Sometimes, it takes just a single word to implement sound management – and the novel method employed by London Olympics creative director Danny Boyle to keep the details of the Opening Ceremony secret appears to have been hugely successful. As dress rehearsals for Friday’s big day took place on Monday, there were fears that the surprises may have been leaked by either performers, or the 60,000 strong crowd who attended. But a large banner with the Twitter hashtag #savethesurprise appears to have succeeded in making people think of the majority who will be seeing the spectacle for the first time tomorrow.
Many people who witnessed the rehearsal have commented positively on it – but have resisted going into detail or posting images. This was undoubtedly management of the smartest kind: social media is at once the easiest way for things to leak quickly to a wide audience, and populated by some of the most talkative and attention-seeking members of the human race. Putting out a clear message to the rehearsal attendees, using a convention from one of the largest social networks, was a masterstroke. We can only hope that the rest of the Olympics will see more management like this… and less like that of G4S.
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