London Olympics 2012: How the Opening Ceremony Production Could Outshine 2008

With a heady brew of history, modernity and British pride, the London Olympics' opening ceremony is poised to be a phenomenon unlike any other, including the impressive display in 2008 in Beijing.

Ceremony organizers have been vocal that their production would not seek to compete with the Beijing extravaganza, which has been credited as the greatest show on earth.

The 2008 ceremony was the vehicle for a message to the world. Between the imposing drumming, the sky-walking torch lighting and director Zhang Yimou's boasts that no other country has the lax labor laws to allow for his inhumane rehearsal schedule, it was an artistic display of Chinese might that no one could ignore.

Zhang is probably right. As a show of strength through lockstep precision and conformity, the Beijing ceremony is virtually unbeatable. That is why the London spectacle will try a different tactic.

Live animals will be unleashed. Paul McCartney will lead a sing-a-long. A hoard of Mary Poppinses killing a 40-foot Lord Voldemort will be seen in the land.

London's "Isle of Wonders," which takes its name from William Shakespeare's The Tempest, will honor Great Britain's history and cultural heritage with novel self-awareness. Under the direction of Danny Boyle, the Oscar-winning director of Slumdog Millionaire, the performance will highlight the isles' picturesque countryside and dank industrialism alike.

"This is a festival of celebration of an Olympic ideal," Boyle told The New York Times. "But it’s not a naive show. We’re trying to show the best of us, but we’re also trying to show many different things about our country."

There will even be artificial rainclouds at the ready, prepared to set the familiar drippy London aesthetic if Mother Nature does not provide it.

An opening ceremony featuring 15,000 volunteers and a $41.7 million price tag is just as ambitious as the 2008 variant, even if London's product will take itself much less seriously. What this will likely yield in London is a much more varied and fuller performance than what its predecessor produced.

When the mass-synchronized drumming kicked off Zhang's production, it inspired awe. When the performers stylized China's inventive past, it inspired awe. When Li Ning took to the skies to light the Olympic torch via wire suspension, it inspired awe.

As impressive as the Beijing opening ceremony was, it can most accurately be described as an awesome display of awesomeness. That statement is not redundant, as Zhang's incredible spectacle told the very stern and self-important story of China's greatness, beating its audience over the head with that idea.

That's why we only still remember the grandest moments like the drumming, but not the little girl singing that followed, as the Chinese flag was brought out. Zhang wowed the world, but his production also stuck to one note throughout.

Boyle's ceremony will benefit from a greater tonal range throughout. It will surely have awesome displays, as all opening ceremonies do, though likely none on the level of Zhang's. However, it will also explore the drama of the worker's plight and the lighthearted comedy of Britain's arts. Again, and I cannot stress this enough: The Mary Poppins gang is going to take out Voldemort.

As the Associated Press says, Boyle's production will be a well-rounded one, "a quirky, humorous and vibrant vision of quintessential Britain." It will display Britain's highs in all their splendor and occasional silliness, but it will also display the human tragedy of its lows.

So while 2008's spectacle may be unmatchable, the world will take in a fuller story in 2012. With a firmer emotional backbone to its extravagant display, London's opening ceremony will ultimately be the more powerful production.