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The theatrical tour de force included a series of dazzling spectacles, from a 40ft oak tree rising serenely from a grassy mound, to a towering 18metre Voldemort character roaming around the stage. Today we can reveal some of the secrets and technical achievements - until now have been shrouded in the strictest secrecy - which it took to produce this breath-taking performance. The NHS scene used 1,200 volunteers from UK hospitals, including 600 nurses. The giant baby was made from fibreglass paper. Switches lit duvets on the 320 beds. Thirty-two actresses were dressed as Mary Poppins to descend on wires attached to rigging which could support 25 tons (the weight of five elephants). They carried umbrellas with lights attached. High-powered fans inflated the seven fabric chimneys, up to 100ft high, from trap doors in the stage. Alongside them, five 32ft long, 9ft-wide steam engines made of steel, aluminium and wood were assembled by ten crew members to help represent the Industrial Revolution. Amber lights lit in sequence created the illusion of a 100ft molten steel river, with pyrotechnic smoke and ‘dry ice’ as the steam. The steel ‘flowed’ into a 39ft diameter trough to form an aluminium ring, which was raised to join four other rings flying in on cables to form the Olympic symbol 328ft above the stadium. The 30-second shower of sparks was real, with actors and crew protected with fireproof costumes. | 
