While the 2012 London Olympics opened with a grand ceremony, Beatles star Sir Paul McCartney was paid just one pound for performing at the Olympics. The legendary singer can demand hundreds and thousands for appearances, but agreed to take part at the grand show for a tiny fee.
The singer performed at the Danny Boyle directed event by playing Fab Four classic Hey Dude. Moreover, even the fellow stars Dizzee Rascal, Mike Oldfield, Emeli Sande and the Arctic Monkeys were also paid the nominal amount.
All the big names had originally agreed to appear for free at the event, but the inclusion of £ 1 was essential to make the contract binding. This meant that the stars were paid less than one twentieth the cost of the cheapest ticket for the ceremony.
The seats for the ceremony were priced up to £2,012 for the best available. The news was confirmed by the organizers of the event Locog, who said that the acts were more than happy to perform without any payment. For the event many of the dancers and actors were contracted to take part. They were paid according to the professional rate. But a majority of the dancers and actors were volunteers who gave their services for free.
