London, England (CNN) -- British director Danny Boyle, who won an Oscar for his movie "Slumdog Millionaire," has been named artistic director of the London 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony, the organizing committee announced Thursday.
Boyle will come up with the theme for the ceremony and shape the show itself, which is watched by a global TV audience of hundreds of millions of people.
The ceremony in Beijing in 2008 attracted a TV audience of one billion, London Olympic organizers said.
"It's a wonderful opportunity, a very intimidating opportunity, and that's a challenge, as it should be, because all those athletes are going to be challenging themselves," Boyle told CNN.
"That's the whole point of the Olympic Games".
