IT‘S hard to believe it’s a decade since the nation basked in the uplifting and inspiring atmosphere of the London 2012 Olympics.
And in the summer of the 10th anniversary of the momentous Games, it’s worth recalling how St Helens found a special place in the jaw-dropping opening ceremony.
The town’s presence came in the shape of St Helens’ old motto, Ex Terra Lucem, which was woven into the DNA of the breathtaking spectacle by the event’s scriptwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce.
Frank, who grew up in St Helens and was educated in the town, was the writer of the stunning spectacle masterminded by the creative genius of Danny Boyle.
Confirmation that our former Latin motto (seen above) – meaning ‘out of the earth came light’ – was used in the London 2012 opening was greeted with immense pride by people of the town.
Speaking during the afterglow of the ceremony, Cottrell Boyce gave an insight into the remarkable influence the phrase had on inspiring the creation of the amazing cauldron where the Olympic flame burned.
He told the Star: “We used St Helens’ old town motto – it was on our noticeboard and featured in our Olympic programme.
“At one point – I can’t be exactly sure what did and didn’t stay in the final version – a piece of music called Caliban’s Dream had a choir singing Ex Terra Lucem.
“Sculptor Thomas Heatherwick who made the Olympic cauldron talked to us quite a lot and saw that phrase.
“I think that is where the very beautiful idea of the cauldron came from – it starts with this light on the floor and then rises up just like the motto – Ex Terra Lucem: out of the earth came light.
“That motto was on our noticeboard from day one and made it all the way to the Olympic programme. So there was a little tribute to St Helens, the town’s motto was woven into the DNA of the Olympic Games.”
St Helens’ remarkable connections to the ceremony stretched further. A fold-out picture spread of the Antony Gormley artwork ‘Field for the British Isles’, which includes 40,000 terracotta figures, featured in the official programme along with the event’s title, Isles of Wonder.
The figures were handmade by 100 local people, aged seven to 70, at Sutton High School in St Helens in 1993, using local Ibstock clay, and the scenes were recreated at St Helens College.
Ex Terra Lucem had featured on St Helens’ coat of arms until 1974 boundary changes (when it was replaced by Prosperitas in Excelsis).
However, after its inclusion in the 2012 ceremony, Star readers led a campaign for it to be restored, a move that the council backed.
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