London Olympics bosses woo ‘Slumdog’ director

With just over two years to go until the London Olympics begin, the organisers of the Games are busy looking for the right person to direct the opening ceremony to be staged in the brand new Olympic Stadium in Stratford on July 27, 2012. The word is they want the Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle.

Billions will watch the ceremony around the world and London wants a master of ceremonies who can deliver a big punch. Boyle is said to have two things in his favour - first, Slumdog, which won eight Oscars, was admired for its visual flair as much as anything, and, second, he's a local, living near the site of the Games in Stratford, east London.

Will he do it? A source said to be "closely involved" told the Sunday Times: "Nothing has been signed yet, but we do fully expect him to do it."

Boyle was playing his cards close to his chest. Asked whether he had been approached, he replied: "I can't say any more. It would be lovely. Wouldn't it?"

Whether Boyle would want to put on a spectacular ceremony as over-the-top as that which opened the 2008 Games in Beijing is another matter. That involved 22,000 performers, 43,000 fireworks, went on for four hours and cost £70m.

"I would think the scale of the Games in China is not something they will try to top here," Boyle said diplomatically. "I think that they will try and make it more intimate. When you look at the site it looks compact rather than gargantuan."

On the other hand, the London bid for the Games did promise "world-class directors, artists, lighting engineers, illusionists and carnivalists" who would fill the stadium with "magic, wit and wonder". But that was before a £156 billion black hole appeared in the nation's finances.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Since this item was first posted, it was announced on June 17 that Danny Boyle has been appointed artistic director for the London Games opening ceremony. Other 'creatives' will be film and theatre director Stephen Daldry, Beijing Games designer Mark Fisher, TV director Hamish Hamilton and producer Catherine Ugwu. ·