Team DB – Inspirational
3 reasons why I LOVED Danny Boyle’s opening ceremony for the
London 2012 Olympics
London 2012 Olympics
Innovators trusting and believing in their ideas
I have an image in my head of Team DB generating ideas on ‘what represents Britain’ going something like this….. James Bond…. The Queen………..
wouldn’t it be great if James Bond escorted the Queen to the opening ceremony……. And if they parachuted in…….
Why not?
Anything’s possible as a film maker. They made it happen. And the Queen has her first acting part in her Jubilee year. Fab.
“You do it for yourselves, you can’t do it for the whole world.” Danny Boyle
Think of the times where you work when someone has a great idea and then it gets reduced, squashed or moulded to please other people. Or, not even expressed for fear that others won’t like it, or worst of all, judge and reject it.
What Team DB excelled at last night was having the courage and confidence to express their take on Britain. No way could they please everyone so they excelled at being true to themselves from beginning to end. I loved that the Arctic Monkeys were the live band and not some Simon Cowell product. That Team DB were being authentic and not compromising to please the masses.
Risk takers
I once heard Sir Ken Robinson compare the education system in Britain to eating out at MacDonalds – you always know what to expect. And his plea Why can’t the education system be like dining at a Michelin starred restaurant? You don’t know what’s going to be on the menu but you trust it will be excellent. I don’t know how Gove & Wilshaw would judge Team DB’s performance but for me it ticked the boxes of head, heart and soul:
the best history lesson – engaging, moving;
a brilliant creative perspective of what makes Britain great – heritage, NHS, music, film, literature, dance, diversity; and
totally inspirational – one man and his team having the self belief, courage, confidence and trust that they could express the essence of Britain and inspire the world.
Olympian by any standards.
