Olympic ceremony music sales going for gold

We loved the Olympic opening ceremony here at the Two Moors Festival – what a wonderfully British affair and a quick lesson in history for everyone who watched it. We certainly had flashbacks to our pre-GCSE days at any rate!

While we’re busy championing Team GB – aren’t they doing well, near the top of the medals board! – there’s another success story that needs to be recognised: the music that Danny Boyle chose as the soundtrack for the opening ceremony to end all ceremonies.

While classical music was clearly not that high on Mr Boyle’s agenda – we were treated to Handel’s Water Music, Parry’s Jerusalem, Nimrod from Elgar’s Variations, a bit of choral music thrown in for good measure and that was about it – over 50 British songs have seen sales rise by 185 per cent, according to figures from the BPI.

“Music has been placed firmly at the heart of the country’s celebrations this year with both the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics Opening Ceremony focusing on one of our country’s greatest exports. Danny Boyle’s cultural extravaganza was a reminder of how important music is to Britain. The Closing Ceremony will showcase even more outstanding British talent to the rest of the world,” Geoff Taylor, chief executive of the BPI, remarked.

We’re certainly looking forward to the closing ceremony on August 12th – fingers crossed that classical music gets a bit more highly deserved air time.

What classical piece do you think would round off the Olympic Games nicely?