Danny Boyle 's Olympic opening teemed with historic , literary and pop culture references . The four-hour , Â£27 million ( $ 42.4 million ) spectacle contained references to such globally-recognized British icons such as James Bond , David Bowie and Harry Potter 's Lord Voldemort . Its title , 'Isles of Wonder , ' was inspired by a line in Shakespeare 's `` The Tempest '' It contained many references to the celebrated William Blake poem `` Jerusalem '' But it 's not all highbrow : there were also some very funny lines from Monty Python ( who had been filming at the same time ) that made their way into the film as well.
Danny Boyle 's Olympic opening teemed with historic , literary and pop culture references . Its title , 'Isles of Wonder , ' was inspired by a line in Shakespeare 's `` The Tempest '' It contained many references to the celebrated William Blake poem `` Jerusalem '' But it 's not all highbrow : there were also some very funny lines from Monty Python ( who had been filming at the same time ) that made their way into the film as well.