Olympian performance: The cultural economics of the opening ceremony of London 2012

The 2012 Olympic Games in London opened with a ceremony staged by theatre and cinema director, Danny Boyle. Its set-piece show, Isles of Wonder, was performed by a professional and community cast in the newlybuilt Olympic Stadium in the city’s east end. This article considers Isles of Wonder as both a theatrical and economic event that staged two models of political economy simultaneously: a theatrically Keynesian one and an infrastructurallyrentier one. It argues that the discomfiting pleasure of Isles of Wonderresulted, in large measure, from the spectatorial experience of watching this interplay happen.