“It’s a credit to (ceremony director) Danny Boyle that it required so little editing.”
Choreographer Akram Khan, whose "Abide With Me" tribute performance at last night's opening ceremony, was visibly shocked to learn NBC had edited out his performance when the network aired the ceremony in tape delay, choosing instead to air a Ryan Seacrest interview with Michael Phelps.
Khan was silent, then he explained to the room and the reporter that this was the first he heard this news. You could see Khan was upset, stunned, shaken and disappointed all in an instant.
Khan's dance director and partner in the performance Farooq Chaudhry told Nicholas Wolaver "It's disgraceful U.S. media could make that decision and [I] would like to know why. Khan later said, "I am really sad that I couldn’t show the work in America, and that really upsets me, because I don‘t think it’s any more or less than the other pieces. It brings to mind the question … that maybe it’s too truthful...Is it not accessible enough? Is it not commercial enough?”
“Our program is tailored for the U.S. television audience,” said NBC Sports spokesman Greg Hughes in a statement. “It’s a credit to (ceremony director) Danny Boyle that it required so little editing.”
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