Boyle: 'Olympics will go back to basics'

Danny Boyle has said that the opening ceremony at London's 2012 Olympics will go "back to basics".

The director - who will oversee the event - insisted that he will not try to outdo Beijing's 2008 festivities.

"We're trying to do something different, because I don't think England could quite top Beijing," he told the Evening Standard.

"It would be foolish to try because it was such a massive thing. So we're going to start again really and go back to basics."

He added: "What's most important is not the opening ceremony. It's the Games that follow it."

Boyle also suggested that Britain's musical heritage will play an important role in the opening extravaganza.

"Think about who we've produced - the likes of David Bowie, Jimmy Page, The Smiths, Stone Roses and New Order... you would imagine it would be a big part of the ceremony," he hinted.

"We're going to welcome the athletes - that's our function. People often forget that with the opening ceremony, when they are looking for spectacle."