Skip to main content
2012 to nothing: lions led by donkeys
What has happened since the night of hope and ambition that was the London Olympics opening ceremony, asks PAUL DONOVAN

“WHAT a difference eight years makes,” I thought following a recent visit to the London Stadium to report for the Star on the West Ham match with Watford. No fans in the ground, an eerie atmosphere, with the players’ shouts and the journalists’ commentaries the only things breaking the silence.

What a contrast with the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, which the stadium played host to. It was one of those strange quirks of fate that a rerun of that ceremony was televised on the same night as that football match.

The opening ceremony was a masterpiece from film director Danny Boyle and his team, showing the many different aspects of Britain. There was the history of the industrial revolution, the factory towers reaching up into the night sky, the tribute to the NHS and the Windrush generation.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
SUPPING WITH THE DEVIL: Stanley Townsend (Mr Parks), Ivanno
Theatre review / 21 March 2025
21 March 2025
PAUL DONOVAN applauds a timely play that explores the resonances of McCarthyite nationalism in today’s US
Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes after the Premier League
Men's Football / 12 March 2025
12 March 2025
Men’s football / 16 February 2025
16 February 2025
SEEING EYE TO EYE: US President Meeting with Pope John Paul
Book Review / 13 February 2025
13 February 2025
PAUL DONOVAN is fascinated by an account of the long history of Catholic Church’s involvement in espionage
Similar stories
Features / 17 September 2024
17 September 2024
The independence referendum’s youthful energy has dissipated, leaving Holyrood disconnected from voters as the constitutional question fades and Labour gains ground from a stagnant SNP, writes COLL MCCAIL
Great Britain's Helen Glover and Tom Daley during the Team G
Olympics / 25 July 2024
25 July 2024