‘Countryside’ Olympic opening ceremony to feature mounds of burning cattle

Olympics News: The 2012 Olympics opening ceremony will be themed around the UK countryside, with the stadium turned into a meadow – complete with grass, rainclouds and pyres of burning cattle from a foot and mouth outbreak.

Speaking at a launch ceremony yesterday, Artistic Director Danny Boyle announced that the opening scene will be called ‘Green and Pleasant’ – with the centrepiece of a gigantic pile of cow carcasses, culled to stop a foot and mouth epidemic.

London Mayor Boris Johnson, dressed in a traditional farmer’s cap and tweed, will then use the Olympic flame to set light to the huge pyre of dead cows, officially signalling the start of the 2012 games.

“The ceremony will be very interactive for the audience, as they’ll have to wear wellies and walk through a trough of disinfectant before they get into the stadium,” said Boyle.

“Then when the ceremony is over, 3,000 volunteers dressed as farmers – brandishing shotguns and shouting ‘Gert orf moi laaaaand!’ – will chase them out of the Olympic park. It’ll be an authentic UK countryside experience.”

Story+Image: Simon Swatman