British Council Director of Film comments on Olympic Opening Ceremony

26 July 2012

Briony Hanson, the British Council's Director of Film, comments ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony:

“At the British Council we’re entirely focussed on making links and building trust between people in the UK and everywhere else. The Olympics does exactly that on an epic stage and the Opening Ceremony gives us an unprecedented chance to show off our wares and our character to the world. I’m delighted that it’s all resting on the shoulders of Danny Boyle, one of the greatest accessible filmmakers the UK has ever produced, and I really feel that if anyone can pull it off then he can. I think the leaks he’s cleverly given to date – the sheep, the nurses and The Archers theme tune - are just scratching the surface. What we’ll actually get is a diverse image of the UK which will show, as Boyle himself has described it, “how peculiar and contrary we are”, just enough pomp and ceremony as befits the occasion – and a great sense of humour.”

 

For more information, please contact Mark Moulding in the British Council Press Office on +44 (0)207 389 4889 or mark.moulding@britishcouncil.org