2012 Games ceremony to be city-wide

1:36pm Saturday 30th August 2008

Organisers of London 2012 will not try to imitate the pageantry of the opening and closing ceremonies at the Beijing Games, Olympics minister Tessa Jowell has said.

Instead of holding the ceremonies inside the main Olympic Stadium, the London organising committee is looking at staging a series of events across the city.

Ms Jowell said: "We don't want to try to emulate Beijing. What we want is new ways of thinking about the opening ceremony.

"We want the whole of London to be involved, with different parts of London taking part in the ceremony. The London Games must be deeply democratic, with the city's citizens feeling they're intimately involved.

"I think what you will see is a very vivid sense of celebration right across the city at both the opening and closing ceremonies."

Ms Jowell told The Independent that the Beijing Games were very impressive but London could improve on a number of areas when it hosts the Games.

She said: "In terms of great organisation, fantastic facilities, and a welcoming attitude and pride among the people, Beijing was superb. But there are things we can and will do better.

"I saw lots and lots of Chinese people standing outside stadiums, on the wrong part of a perimeter fence, as observers rather than participants. We must reverse that trend and make sure our Olympics are more accessible.

"I also want to minimise the number of empty seats in stadiums, which frustrate the public and keep them at a distance for no reason.

"And I want our volunteers to be trained better and given a more clearly defined role."

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