The eyes of the “universe” were focused upon London last night for the Opening Ceremony of the 30th Modern Olympic Games, with some 27 million viewers in the UK alone tuning in to watch a celebration of British iconography, including James Bond escorting the Queen to the Games and Mr Bean in Chariots of Fire. Doctor Who was also represented by the TARDIS materialisation sound effect complementing Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody during the 1970s music section.

An additional segment to feature a video montage accompanying the theme tune itself had originally been planned but was dropped for timing reasons. Doctor Who‘s brand manager Edward Russell clarified:

In Doctor Who lore, of course, the ceremony saw the Doctor himself light the Olympic Torch (Fear Her, 2006). In reality, the London Torch (made up of 205 petals representing every country competing at the Games) was ignited by seven aspiring young athletes chosen by British Olympic champions.