A GIANT effigy of Harry Potter arch enemy Voldemort rises up to terrorise kids during the opening ceremony at the Olympic Stadium.
However the film baddie met his match when he was driven away by a squadron of flying Mary Poppinses.
Brolly good show ... flying Mary Poppinses arrive by umbrella
Their hilarious aerial assault sparked a celebratory chorus of Mike Oldfield’s hit In Dulce Jubilo.
And the section concluded with the appearance of the giant figure of a baby safely asleep in bed.
The London Symphony Orchestra then kicked in with an interlude which included the fitting soundtrack from the Oscar-winning British movie Chariots of Fire.
Earlier, Harry Potter author JK Rowling had read JM Barrie’s Peter Pan launching a tribute to great villains of British literature.
Towering ... a huge figure of Harry Potter baddie Voldemort arrives in the Olympic Stadium
They included The Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Captain Hook and the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland.
British TV and cinema were also celebrated during the night as the show ticked off every icon of popular culture in recent decades on giant screens.
Projections flashed up of TV shows including Harry Hill, Blackadder and Fawlty Towers plus soaps EastEnders and Coronation Street. An Italian Job movie mini also raced into view before the pace slowed to pay tribute to British weather.
Predictably the heavens opened half an hour before the ceremony began — but after a short shower it turned dry for the rest of the night.
Storyteller ... JK Rowling last night
BBC
Tributes were paid to London scientist Tim Berners-Lee the man who invented the world wide web and changed the face of communication forever.
A message appeared on LED in seating in the crowd spelling out the words This Is For Everyone - celebrating his gift to the world. A dizzying medley of pop songs followed including Push The Button by Sugababes, Going Underground by The Jam and Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton.
Pride of a nation ... actors perform tribute to NHS before giant figure
Then there was My Generation by The Who, Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones, She Loves You by The Beatles, My Boy Lollipop by Millie, All Day and All of the Night by The Kinks and Mud’s Tiger Feet.
And jaws dropped yet again when David Bowie’s hit Starman filled the stadium as rocket men carried by jetpacks soared into the air above the crowd. Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, Pretty Vacant by the Sex Pistols, Blue Monday by New Order, Step On by the Happy Mondays and many more iconic hits were also woven into the high tempo soundtrack. The section ended with a live performance of Dizzee Rascal’s hit Bonkers.
The stadium fell silent for the first time of the evening when hundreds of images of a Memorial Wall were beamed on to screens.
All ticket-holders were invited to send organisers images of loved ones who couldn’t be there.
Emeli Sande sang a heart-rending version of Abide With Me.
What a bell-ter ... champion cyclist Bradley Wiggins rings giant bell
As she did, an emotional Danny Boyle tweeted: “I love you all!” The director, whose late dad Frank would have celebrated his birthday yesterday, added: “Proud to be British.” Many of the 10,490 athletes competing then paraded before the clapping crowds.
As the athletes marched, Boyle again tweeted: “Thank you, everyone, for your kind words! Means the world to me."
The tempo changed yet again with a blast of rock from the Arctic Monkeys.
Finally, it was time for the climax of the night... the lighting of the cauldron.
Sgt Peppers ... the Beatles tribute
Figuring it all out
- FOUR billion people worldwide watched the show.
- CEREMONY’S giant bell was cast by Whitechapel Bell Foundry, the world’s oldest.
- MIKE Oldfield’s Tubular Bells, featured in the NHS tribute, was in the UK album charts for 279 weeks and sold 17million copies.
- FIVE hundred speakers and 50 tons of sound equipment was used.
- THE flying system used to support performers and props for aerial sequences is powerful enough to lift five elephants.
- MORE than 7,500 volunteers joined the cast. They gave up 150 hours of their own time and 284 rehearsals were staged.
- A TEAM of 34 animal handlers cared for livestock featured in the opening.
- SECTIONS of the vast turfed area of the stadium were given the names of counties during rehearsals. The zone with sheep was called Essex and the waterwheel section was Gloucestershire.
- MUSIC was played at a constant 120 beats per minute during the athletes’ parade to encourage them to walk faster.
- OF 737 suppliers used to create the ceremony, 96 per cent were British.
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