Seven Years

Seven years ago, on 27th July 2012, the world witnessed a truly spectacular ceremony opening the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The Night that Changed our Lives

While the hosting country turned from sarcastic sceptics into proud enthusiasts in a matter of minutes, the world watched in awe, occasionally bewildered, but broadly admiring the shrewd and eccentric creativity on display, with innovative staging tricks never thought possible on this scale.

The night was a triumph, and Danny Boyle, the Oscar-winning director of the Ceremony, consistently emphasised that this was not just to the credit of the immensely skilled and talented professional crews, but largely due to the commitment, willingness and spirit of the 7,500 strong body of volunteer performers, the "most valuable commodity of all", who set the scene and foreshadowed the subsequent positive impact of the 70k Games Makers.

965 of the volunteer performers carried plastic and metal buckets and bins and wore dirty, smelly and oily Industrial Revolution outfits - they marked their presence around ten past nine, with a crescending rumble followed by a resounding bosh that could be heard a mile away from the Olympic stadium, followed by an almighty shout of "Hoy":

The Pandemonium Drummers arrived on the world stage.

And we haven't left since.

Seven Years of Achievements

After seven years, we rocked up to over 250 gigs, including:

• Large Scale Ceremonies:
  Wembley Stadium, Millennium Stadium Cardiff, Twickenham Stadium, National Indoor Arena Birmingham
• Festivals & Theatre:

  Standon Calling, Henley Festival, Secret Cinema
• Charity Balls & Award Nights:

  Mo Farah Foundation, Teenage Cancer Trust, Macmillan, CC Skills Awards
• Cheer Drumming:

  London Marathon, London Landmarks, Superhero Triathlon
• Amateur Sports:

  Special Olympics Bath & Newcastle, London Youth Games, Lacrosse World Cup Guildford
• History & Culture:

  Brunel Museum, Victorian Festival Portsmouth, Pages of the Sea Folkestone
• Workshops & Wellbeing:

  BP, National Trust, UCL, Waitrose
• and much, much more...

We also won a Team London Special Achievement Award and a Voluntary Arts Epic Award, and we wrote and produced our own music video Champion, as well as the fun-filled Panda Samba and the evocative Symphony of Waves.

But most important of all, we are carrying forward both the memory and the volunteering spirit of the London 2012 Ceremonies, based on the values of openness, inclusiveness, engagement, enjoyment, improvement, creativity and collaboration.

An Exciting Future Ahead

After seven years, we are now re-aligning our mission and re-adjusting how we go about things. 

To give you a glimpse of our future, we are committing ourselves to:

• Preserve the memory and cultural legacy of the London 2012 Ceremonies through public performances.
• Celebrate amateur sports events by developing and providing ceremonial and motivational performances.
• Promote voluntary performing arts by developing and presenting staged performances and spectaculars.
• Advance musical education by developing methods for training people with a variety of musical skill levels.
• Promote physical health, mental wellbeing and enjoyment of music making through drumming workshops.

Do you want to be a part of it? Then follow us for announcements over the next few months!

We are immensely grateful to have had the life-changing opportunity of being volunteer performers in the London 2012 Ceremonies, and thanks to all those who supported us along the way.

Join us in remembering the 27th of July 2012 by re-watching the whole Ceremony that started it all off!
You might also want to explore the official Ceremonies Explorer on Tumblr for background information.

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ABOUTPandemonium Drummers

The Pandemonium Drummers were originally put together by London 2012 Ceremonies for the Pandemonium segment of Danny Boyle's spectacular Olympic Opening Ceremony. Following the Ceremony, the volunteer drummers kept on performing at a variety of events.

Based on their extensive training, they performed at other Opening Ceremonies, including the UEFA Champions League Final 2013, the FA Cup Final 2014, and the Heineken Cup Final 2014, and at a variety of large and small festivals as well as sports and community events. The Pandemonium Drummers are a returning act in London's major parades, including the London New Years' Day Parade, St Patrick's Day Parade, and the Lord Mayor's Show, and they coined Cheer Drumming, supporting runners at major sports events across the capital and beyond. The Pandemonium Drummers have supported the Special Olympics, the Teenage Cancer Trust, and a wide range of other charities.

The Pandemonium Drummers are a constituted association with charitable aims, and are working on a non-profit basis as volunteers.

[ More about the Pandemonium Drummers ]