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I'm not sure if it's the full ceremony, as I only caught the James Bond bit last night, but here's a 22 minute version. Hope this helps:
The following link provides a great insight. Enjoy :-)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19018666
Olympics Opening Ceremony: James Bond and the Queen Meet, Parachute Into the Stadium (Video)
The Danny Boyle-directed extravaganza included plenty of cultural touchstones, none more prominent than these two UK legends.
2:13 PM PDT 7/27/2012 by Jordan Zakarin
Queen Elizabeth James Bond Olympic Opening Ceremony
It couldn't get any more British if it came drenched in tea.
our editor recommends
In planning a proper celebration of all things London, Olympics Opening Ceremony director Danny Boyle went right for the crown jewel: the Queen of England, herself. And he didn't stop there, as the Oscar winner teamed the beloved monarch with one of the island nation's most popular cultural exports, James Bond, in a pre-taped video kickoff that may have Skyfall director Sam Mendes jealous of his casting ability.
In what would be the ultimate Bond movie opening, the Queen brings in the Daniel Craig-potrayed 007 to give him his next mission: kicking off the Olympiad. And she didn't stop there, as she (or, and this is just a hunch, someone dressed up like her) joined the intrepid secret agent in a skydive into the London stadium where the festivities were being held.
Despite the bit's importance, it wasn't easy to get made. It took three attempts, Nic Brown, the BBC Director of Drama Production, wrote in a blog post earlier today, with red tape, clouds and other headaches making the shoot about as difficult as winning a gold medal.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/earshot/london-2012-olympics-music-opening-ceremonies-paul-mccartney-355599
Proud that Daniel Craig is our Ambassador and a humanitarian who supports causes. http://goo.gl/kwNz5
http://everyonematters2012.com/the-clandestine-humanitarian-side-of-daniel-craig-aka-james-bond-he-supports-more-than-a-dozen-causes-including-everyone-matters-as-ambassador
Hurray for stereotypes!!!!
nice still of our baddie here - it's probably been posted but the video with it is the Olympic SKYFALL trailer - but that's probably already been posted no doubt. I don't why I do it.....
Danny Boyle should direct Bond 24.
Please dont think me rude here but we are extremely proud of our NHS men and women. It was fabulous to see them celebrated.
A bit of respect wouldnt go amiss regardless of your political persuasion.
Great to hear Bond was a winner however! ;-)
;)
Here in the UK we're proud of the NHS and the people who work for it. That was one of my favourite parts of the ceremony.
Glad to see that people aren't taking these comments laying down. We have socialized medicine in Canada and it's seen as one of our defining features. Of course, a tremendous number of countries have socialized medicine so to hear people have such an extreme reaction to it seems strange, to say the least.
It's been both funny and sad to read some of the comments on American news sites about the NHS segment. A lot of people seem to honestly believe that that segment was included as a "poke in the eye" to the U.S. Yep, you're right, it was nothing to do with with celebrating Britain, it was all about how people think of the U.S. Everything is about you...sigh.
James Bond sketch makes history
It was a sketch no one could image; actor Daniel Craig and the Queen featured in a cut scene during the 2012 Olympic games opening. The concept was funny, edgy, and it gave audiences a thrill.
The Queen made her first acting role in probably the most viewed ‘short film” she’s ever been in. Danny Boyle praised her for being “very helpful and very sharp” during the filming. Craig and the Queen worked well together, and the scene broke the “Royal etiquette” in style.
On top of the collaboration, the scene was then timed with a live stunt, as a skydiver dressed as the queen leaped out of a helicopter over the Olympic Stadium. The Queen then appeared at the games with a massive applause. It was a classic Bond opening for a ceremony many predicted would be a ‘low budget’ affair.
Danny Boyle delivered what few could imagine was possible and the London 2012 Games opened in style. With that said, enjoy the rest of the 2012 Olympic Games!
http://filmindustrynetwork.co.uk/daniel-craig-and-the-queen-make-movie-history/1310
Not to mention the number of Americans genuinely believing that Sir Kenneth Branagh was playing Abraham Lincoln... Because no one else in world history ever had facial hair and wore a top hat with black tails.
More on the event here:
http://news.sky.com/story/966068/olympics-queens-double-on-parachute-jump
The man who played The Queen leaping out of a helicopter in one of the most memorable moments of the Olympic Games' Opening Ceremony has told Sky News how the stunt took months to perfect.
Gary Connery said he had carried out a number of test jumps at various airfields and over the Olympic Stadium before the main event that was watched by hundreds of millions around the world.
Mr Connery, who landed on a nearby bridge, described the jump as "unsurpassable" and" absolutely stunning", adding he "thoroughly enjoyed dressing up as queenie".
As he came down to earth, the real Queen then made her entrance alongside her husband Prince Philip as they were introduced to the crowd.
The monarch had not only appeared in her role as head of state of the host nation for the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games, but also starred in the show.
The Olympic Stadium erupted with cheers and applause as Her Majesty arrived in spectacular fashion, seeming to jump out of the aircraft with James Bond in film footage shown to the audience.
It showed 007 (Daniel Craig) walking into Buckingham Palace in a dinner jacket, striding past corgis to pick up the Queen, who was sitting at her writing desk and simply said "good evening, Mr Bond", before the pair walked off through the palace.
The two then boarded a helicopter which flew across London to the stadium, hovering above as they parachuted down to the ground.
But at the last moment the head of state - in the same peach cocktail dress seen in the film - along with the Duke of Edinburgh, appeared in the arena to take her seat.
The Queen's role - played to perfection - left the audience awe-struck and delighted both in the stadium and around the world.
"The Queen made herself more accessible than ever before," Boyle had said earlier.
In May, Mr Connery entered the history books when he became the first skydiver to land safely without using a parachute.
He leapt 2,400ft from a helicopter while wearing a specially made "wing suit" and swooped towards a "runway" of 18,600 cardboard boxes in an Oxfordshire field.
The link also contains two video interviews
Queen Elizabeth II might be the world's most famous monarch, but that doesn't mean she doesn't need a little reassurance now and then.
And after her cameo role in the opening ceremony of London 2012, she appears to have been after a bit of feedback - and in the absence of James Bond, she turned to - of all people - London's mayor Boris Johnson.
Johnson, who escorted the 86-year-old monarch around the Olympic Park during an official tour on Saturday, said that she was "thrilled" about the film and keen to know if people found her cameo role funny.
"My impression is that she loved it," the staunch royalist said. "Maybe, you know, there won't be many film performances that she will give and whether she will get an Oscar, I don't know," he joked.
The Queen apparently needed little persuading in making her film debut, appearing with the country's most famous fictional spy James Bond during the London Olympic opening ceremony.
In a brief, tongue-in-cheek film broadcast to a packed Olympic stadium late on Friday - as well as a massive worldwide television audience - Bond actor Daniel Craig entered Buckingham Palace wearing his trademark tuxedo.
After a pause, Her Majesty turns from her writing desk and says simply: "Good evening, Mr Bond."
She uttered just four words, but they were seen as a highly personal touch from a monarch once seen as aloof.
"The queen was delighted to be asked, and be involved in something so exceptional," a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said. "Very pleased to take part, and it was our Olympics and the queen was delighted to be part of it."
Princess Diana's death in 1997 was a low-point for the royal family, yet the huge crowds that greeted her during Diamond Jubilee celebrations in June were proof of how far the queen had recovered in the eyes of the public.
The pre-recorded clip also showed 007 escorting the queen to the stadium in a moment of levity rarely shared by the public, who can only read about her well-reported sense of humour.
The 86-year-old monarch was happy for two of her beloved corgis, Monty, 13, and Holly, nine, to play a role. The depiction of her derring-do arrival was a quirky moment in an eclectic ceremony on Friday.
The opening shot showed the Queen sitting at a writing table in Buckingham Palace, welcoming Bond, played by Craig.
The pair made their way to a waiting helicopter in the grounds of the central London palace, apparently leaving her doting corgis on the doorstep.
The helicopter zipped across the city and a man dressed as Bond skydived down towards the Olympic Park in east London, followed by a figure in a pale peach dress matching that worn by the queen in the film.
She then appeared for real in the main stadium before 60,000 spectators - and without a hair out of place - before taking her seat.
The film was the brainchild of the ceremony's director Danny Boyle, but it was London organising committee chairman Seb Coe who first approached the palace in 2011.
When asked how much it took to persuade the queen to take part, a LOCOG spokeswoman said: "Not much. I think she really liked the whole concept Danny had put together."
Oscar-winning director Boyle shot the scenes in the palace's quadrangle, the Grand Entrance, the East Gallery, the Audience Room and the West Terrace, in March and April this year.
"You don't have to tell her something twice," Boyle said.
"She picks it up straight away, about cameras and angles."
The queen was then given a viewing before its official showing.
"She was very happy to take part, she was happy to do what she did," the Buckingham Palace spokeswoman added.
Her off-beat appearance was a hit with the British media. "It's been received really well, we always knew it would," the palace spokeswoman added.
When asked if it might be the monarch's last appearance in a film, she said: "Never say never, but I imagine so, it was a very special one-off."
Other members of the Royal Family have had cameo appearances in long-running TV and radio soap operas.
Her stuntman Gary Connery said the part had been exciting, but he'd not been allowed to keep the dress.
"It's all part of it, and you just go with the flow," he told BBC television.
"Last night was the first time I'd actually had the make-up on.
"The process of making me the queen ... had been three to four months."
It capped off a successful year for the queen who in June marked 60 years on the throne with a weekend extravaganza that saw millions of flag waving Britons take to the streets to show their affection and appreciation for a monarch more normally renowned for her stately dignity.
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/londonspy/mr-bond-did-think-funny-141033266.html
I'm American and I just want to point out that I don't subscribe to the above points of view, believe me. It is disheartening to hear that our coverage is like that. And as Volante mentioned, Kenneth Branaugh as Abraham Lincoln, what the ?!?
I am overseas now, so I cannot see how this is being reported in the U.S.
A nice 5 mins of the ceremony dedicated to Bond (what did Harry Potter get? Barely a mention in passing - on your bike sonny no chance you will ever reach such legendary status) and the fact that it was actually the Queen and not a double makes it unique as I can envisage her doing it under any other circumstances. I doubt she would have done it had they decided to it with Mr Bean instead. Only Bond has that irresistible lustre. I'm pretty sure that the Royal family are fairly big Bond fans anyway.
A few minor gripes:
1. Bond shouldve been addressed as 'Commander Bond' not 'Mr' - shes not a villain (actually maybe a nice gag might have ben for her to turn around petting a corgi on her lap and say 'Mr Bond, I've been expecting you' or would that have been a bit too cheesy? Although thankfully the whole 'Bond being knighted' thing turned out to be a load of bollocks.
2. Shouldnt they have been able to match the sky a bit better? I know it was overcast on the night but even so I think it was still too light in the film for what the sky was going to be on the night. We're not in the middle ages here believing God does it all and it is a pretty simple calculation to work out what time the sun goes down. Failing that couldnt they have done a few separate versions with a filter over the film? I'm pretty sure the DAD PTS was filmed in daylight and then adjusted in post production to look like night.
3. Wouldve liked some sort of quip from Bond after she jumped but just before he went. Nothing too over the top, just something like 'After you Maam' and a little smile to himself wouldve done.
4. As someone else said the music shouldve started at the same point as TWSLM.
5. Would it really have killed her to have smiled when she entered the stadium? The whole country was on its feet at that point.
But when all said and done it was a great night for Bond. The papers and Twitter went mental about how good it was and it was phenomenal advertising for EON.
I would like to see the contract details of how it was all arranged and also I wouldnt be holding my breath too much on it coming out on as an extra on the SF DVD. In terms of who owns what I would say that the pecking order would be LOCOG, the palace and then EON.
Difficult to untangle who would own what unless part of the deal was that EON would be also able to use it for promotional purposes. I dont think EON couldve played hardball too much though as this was an opportunity they would kill for and LOCOG wouldve known that.
Can anyone remember if SF was mentioned anywhere by the commentator? If I was EON I would've certainly had it in the contract that it should be mentioned that this year was Bonds 50th and SF was out in October.
Also why didnt they release the trailer on saturday morning to captitalise on the boost in Bonds popularity overnight?