The government doubled the budget of the Olympic games opening and closing ceremonies to £80million in December last year. The extra money comes from the £9.3billion Olympic public funding package to help the ceremonies to be more spectacular allowing for the great legacy to be viewed by the world of sport.
The opening ceremony is usually the heart of the Olympic games where countries try to represent their culture in a show that brings together all cultures under one roof. Minister for Sport and Olympics Hugh Robertson said,
“We have invested that £41million because it’s about the impression that people take away from this country.”
With the opening ceremony taking place in the 80,000 capacity Olympic Stadium, it underpins the legacy behind the stadium that is at the heart of London 2012 and all previous Olympic Games.
In terms of world-wide viewers this remains impressive, in 2004, the Olympic opening ceremony was only beaten as a televised sporting event by the final of Euro 2004, whose 153 million viewers was underpinned by the enormous interest of Soccer in Asia. According to London Councils 2012 team, an estimated global audience of 4 billion people are expected to watch the opening ceremony on July 27, 2012 which is nearly two thirds of the world’s population! This will beat the total figure for viewers who watched the opening ceremony in Sydney 2000 which was 3.5 billion people.
Also, the new Legacy Trust will invest £40 million in the promotion of sport and culture through the 2012 Games. The funding is provided by the Big Lottery Fund, the Arts Council and the DCMS. Having this funding allows for a greater concentration on the Olympic legacy during the most viewed day of the Olympics.
(Source: Olympic Website)
