The theatrical1 tour de force included a series of dazzling spectacles, from a 40ft oak tree rising serenely2 from a grassy3 mound4, to a towering 18metre Voldemort character roaming around the stage.
在本届伦敦奥运会开幕式上，观众们看到了一系列的耀眼奇观，不仅有从草丘上安详升起的40英尺高的橡树，还有在舞台上漫游的18米高的“伏地魔”。
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Apart from close-up shots of Becks, the entire trip was filmed live, overseen by Billy Elliot director Stephen Daldry.
Today we can reveal some of the secrets and technical achievements - until now have been
shrouded6（遮蔽） in the strictest
secrecy7 - which it took to produce this breath-taking performance.
The NHS scene used 1,200 volunteers from UK hospitals, including 600 nurses. The giant baby was made from fibreglass paper. Switches lit duvets on the 320 beds.
Thirty-two actresses were dressed as Mary Poppins to
descend8 on wires attached to rigging which could support 25 tons (the weight of five elephants). They carried umbrellas with lights attached.
High-powered fans
inflated9 the seven
fabric10 chimneys, up to 100ft high, from trap doors in the stage. Alongside them, five 32ft long, 9ft-wide steam engines made of steel,
aluminium11 and wood were assembled by ten crew members to help represent the Industrial Revolution.
Amber12 lights lit in sequence created the illusion of a 100ft molten steel river, with pyrotechnic smoke and ‘dry ice' as the steam. The steel ‘flowed' into a 39ft diameter trough to form an aluminium ring, which was raised to join four other rings flying in on cables to form the Olympic symbol 328ft above the stadium. The 30-second shower of sparks was real, with actors and crew protected with fireproof costumes.
Despite
rumours13 that David Beckham wasn't actually driving the speedboat — named Max Power — that sped him down the Thames, organisers insist he was operating the controls, with other crew members on hand just for safety (though they admit he didn't dock the boat himself). Apart from close-up shots of Becks, the entire trip was filmed live, overseen by Billy Elliot director Stephen Daldry.
Stuntman14 Gary Connery dressed as the Queen to leap from a helicopter 550ft above the stadium. Mark Sutton, a former soldier, jumped as 007. They had taken off from Stapleford
Airfield15 in Essex and
hovered16 over London for 30 minutes before the jump — then landed outside the stadium, next to Anish Kapoor's steel tower.
The 75 'dove bikes', 70 ridden by volunteers found on internet cycling
forums17, rehearsed in secrecy. The fabric wings had tiny LED lights and were operated by aluminium rods attached to the handlebars which riders pressed to create the flapping effect. Bob Haro, who created the flying bike scene in ET,
choreographed18 the sequence.
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