London 2012: Isles of Wonder is Olympic ceremony theme

London 2012's opening ceremony is to be themed Isles of Wonder, organisers have revealed six months ahead of the Games.

The ceremony's artistic director, Danny Boyle, revealed the name at a press briefing alongside creative director Stephen Daldry.
Boyle said it would be about a land that has been poisoned by industrial legacy and the recovery of that land.


It is anticipated the opening ceremony on 27 July will be watched by one billion TV viewers.
Boyle, who is best known for directing Oscar-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire and Trainspotting, said: "we'll be celebrating the whole of the country... there are so many 'Isles of Wonder'".


And he said they had commissioned the biggest ringing bell in Europe which would hang at one end of the stadium and sound at the opening of the Games.
It will be inscribed with a quote from Shakespeare's The Tempest: "Be not afeard, the isle is full of noises".
Boyle said he wanted people to hear it "for hundreds of years".

The BBC's Tim Muffett had a look inside the athletes' apartments

The evening's 50-minute pre-show will begin at 12 minutes past eight - 20:12 BST - before the main event kicks off at 21:00 BST when the bell rings.
Some 900 youngsters from the six Olympic host boroughs will be given roles in the opening and closing ceremonies.
A total of 1,650 children from 18 primary and seven secondary schools in east London have been auditioning for the roles in recent weeks.
Boyle also revealed that nurses would have a starring role in the ceremony sequence because, he said, the NHS is one of things that is "unique about us... along with our sense of humour".
'Fabulous opportunity' Talking about all four Olympic ceremonies, Stephen Daldry said they were the "greatest shows on earth and the task was enormous."
He said they would represent one journey to the end looking at who we are, who we were and who we would wish to be.
All four ceremonies are expected to be watched by four billion people and advertising experts estimate this is worth up to £5bn in airtime exposure.
More detailed information will be released about the artists in April and the content of opening ceremony in June, he added.

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London 2012 ceremonies

• Cast of 15,000 volunteers
• 23,000 costumes
• 12 hours of music
• 60 musicians
• 15,000 sq m of staging
• 13,000 propos
• one million watt PA system with 500 speakers

For the opening ceremony Boyle will again be collaborating with electronic musical duo Underworld whose 'Born Slippy' featured in Trainspotting.

The pair, who also worked with the director on his acclaimed stage production of Frankenstein last year, have been named musical directors of the three-hour ceremony.
Some 20,000 performers are being sought for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
They will be drawn from members of the public and more than 10,000 have already been auditioned.
Michelle from Essex said: "I am one of the performers in the opening ceremony and really excited about it. Looking forward to rehearsals starting. Can't tell you what we're doing though - I love surprises, don't you?"
On a tour of the park after the official announcements, London 2012 Chief Executive Paul Deighton said he was hopeful the Orbit Tower would be finished by 1 May in time for test events.
He said: "We want it to be one of the things that people come to London and say they've visited. It's idiosyncratic but people are intrigued by it. They think 'Wow! That's quite something'. The capacity will be about 500 people."

A double-sided screen will also be erected on barge on the river running through the Olympic Park for 10,000 fans to watch ongoing sports.

Speaking earlier on Friday about the challenges that lay ahead in the next six months, London 2012 Chairman Seb Coe said it was a fabulous opportunity but a "heavy weight of responsibility".
Mr Deighton said it would be all about attention to detail as well as building the excitement and helping people to be a part of what will be "the greatest thing this city has seen in their lifetimes".
A ceremony was also held marking the handover of the Athletes' Village, on the Olympic Park in Stratford, from the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) to Locog.
The 2,818 flats will now be fitted out to cater for 16,000 athletes and officials from 200 countries.