The Olympics are a serious time for serious athletes to… seriously compete. So inviting the extremely goofy Mr. Bean to be apart of the opening ceremonies may not be the best idea.
Of course, Mr. Bean was invited and it was for fun. Some real life comedy relief to cut some of the extreme tension. During the playing of Vangelis’ nearly obligatory Chariots of Fire, Bean appeared on camera as a part of the performance being very Mr. Bean-like.