Hong Kong ( CNN ) -- The world watched , as the London 2012 Olympic Games opened with director Danny Boyle 's elaborate ode to England , and furiously tapped their reaction on social media . But one comment on Twitter has sparked a political fracas on the home soil of the games , as a British member of Parliament lamented the `` multi-cultural crap '' of the £27 million ( $ 42.4 million ) ceremony . Entitled `` Isle of Wonder , '' Boyle -- the Oscar-winning director best known for hit movies `` Trainspotting '' and `` Slumdog Millionaire '' -- put together a star-studded on-field dramatization that drew on Shakespeare and Brit Pop to chart Britain from its pastoral roots through the Industrial Revolution to James Bond , Harry Potter and the Beatles . `` The most leftie opening ceremony I have ever seen -- more than Beijing , the capital of a communist state ! Welfare tribute next ? '' wrote Aidan Burley , a Conservative Party MP who was fired as a ministerial aide in David Cameron 's government after revelations he attended a Nazi-themed stag party in France last year . `` Thank God the athletes have arrived ! Now we can move on from leftie multi-cultural crap . Bring back red arrows , Shakespeare and the Stones ! '' he added minutes later . Burley backpedaled after the strong online backlash against his comments , posting : `` Seems my tweet has been misunderstood . I was talking about the way it was handled in the show , not multiculturalism itself . '' Queen opens the London 2012 Olympics . There was a great deal of comparison being drawn between the London ceremony and the 2008 Beijing Olympics . @ legallyblondekf wrote : `` Ha ! London sees your zillion drummers drumming in unison and raises you a deaf drummer . Your move China , '' referring to deaf Scottish percussionist Evelyn Glennie leading drummers during the London ceremony . Like London , a pre-eminent director -- Zhang Yimou , director of films such as the 1991 film `` Raise the Red Lantern '' and more recently `` The Flowers of War , '' starring Christian Bale -- choreographed the Beijing ceremony . `` ( London 's ) opening ceremony was a far cry from Beijing 's . Even the director of the London Olympics ceremony complained of the budget being too small , having only 27 million pounds , '' user Haluo-yuan wrote on Sina Weibo , the largest micro-blogging site in China , where state censors block Twitter . `` There 's no comparison with the formidable China . '' China 's best Olympic hopes in London . Still , commentators on Sina Weibo were largely complimentary of the London ceremony -- although many complained about getting up at 4 a.m. in China to watch the event live . `` London 's Olympic opening ceremony certainly was interesting , but it ca n't be said that it was superior to Beijing 's . It can only be said that each had its merits , '' wrote Zhang Yiwu , a professor at Peking University with 3 million followers on Sina Weibo . `` Beijing 's Olympics and its immense grandeur were hosted by a developing country , by a country that had never hosted the Olympics before , '' he added . `` Now , we can relax but must also understand to strive for new heights of dignity . There 's no need for contentious feeling . Each has its own beauty . '' Ai Weiwei , the Chinese artist and activist , helped design the iconic Bird 's Nest stadium for the 2008 Beijing Olympics before he fell afoul with authorities and is now under house arrest on tax evasion charges . He wrote Saturday : `` The London opening ceremony is free , relaxed and touching , smoothly switching between different time and space , expressing confidence . It 's the festival of modern citizens . '' Athletes themselves were posting from inside the London arena , such as LeBron James , the three-time NBA MVP who is playing for the U.S. basketball team . James was up late into the night feeding images to Instagram from his view of the ceremony inside the stadium . `` Me with one of the best the game of basketball has to offer , '' he wrote , tweeting a photo alongside U.S. teammate Kobe Bryant . Decoded : Boyle 's Olympic spectacular . Indeed , the real-time social media scrum seemed to take some of the fun out of the ceremony for viewers in the U.S. , where the broadcast on NBC was tape-delayed to run during prime time hours . Gareth M. Skarka ‏ @ gmskarka wrote : `` Hey @ NBCOlympics -- there 's still # openingceremony occurring . You already tape-delayed it . Howsabout letting us watch it , not interviews ? '' ‬ . Added Charles Johnson ‏ @ Lizardoid : `` NBC News in LA is still stubbornly pretending the Olympics opening ceremony is just beginning. '' ‬ . After the ceremony , director Boyle tweeted : `` Thank you , everyone , for your kind words ! Means the world to me . `` Proud to be British . '' CNN 's Alexis Lai , CY Xu and Hilary Whiteman contributed to this report .
British politician 's opening ceremony tweet ##ed a social media response . Aidan Burley , a Conservative Party MP , called the ceremony ` ` multi - cultural . '' Many people weighed the London ceremony versus the 2008 Beijing Olympics . Social media response was largely positive to director Danny Boyle 's $ 100 million production .