Young people audition to take part in the Opening Ceremony

The Opening Ceremony is a celebration showcasing the best of the Host Nation. It also features a parade of all competing nations and the highly anticipated entrance of the Olympic Flame, which ignites the Cauldron and signals the start of the Games.

The eyes of the world will be on London for the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The Ceremony will provide an opportunity for the world to view the artistic expression of the Artistic Director (Danny Boyle) and his team, and the culture of our Host City and the UK. There are certain elements that must feature in every Ceremony, as outlined in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) charter. The artistic performance of the Ceremony then gets underway and welcomes the world to the London 2012 Games.

The name of the Olympic Opening Ceremony show will be ‘Isles of Wonder’ and the worldwide broadcast will commence at 9pm. The Ceremony will kick off with the sound of the largest harmonically tuned bell in Europe, produced by the Whitechapel Foundry, and the Stadium will be transformed into the British countryside for opening scene ‘Green and Pleasant’, which includes real farmyard animals. The Ceremony will also include a special sequence celebrating the best of British, featuring volunteer performers from the NHS.

Danny Boyle, Artistic Director of the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony, said: ‘Our Isles of Wonder salutes and celebrates the exuberant creativity of the British genius in an Opening Ceremony that we hope will be as unpredictable and inventive as the British people.’

Receiving the Head of State

The Head of State of the Host Country is received at the entrance of the Olympic Stadium by the President of the IOC. For the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony, Her Majesty the Queen will be greeted by Jacques Rogge.

Parade of Athletes

A procession of the participating teams in the Stadium, nation by nation. Teams enter in alphabetical order, according to the language of the Host Country, apart from the Greek team, which enters first for the Olympics, and the team of the Host Nation (in this case Team GB), who march in last.

Speeches

Once all the nations have arrived into the Stadium, LOCOG Chair Seb Coe will give a speech, followed by Jacques Rogge. They will end their speeches by inviting the Head of State to officially declare the Games open.

Olympic Anthem and Flag

Once the Games have been declared open, the Olympic Flag is then carried into the Stadium and hoisted into the air as the respective Anthem is played. The Olympic Charter states that each flag must fly for the entire duration of the Games – placed in a prominent position in the main Stadium.

Oaths

A participating athlete, judge and coach from the Host Nation stand on the rostrum and, holding a corner of the IOC flag in their left hand and raising their right, take the Oath, vowing to compete and judge according to the rules of their respective sport,.

The Torch and Cauldron

The big finale is the entrance of the Olympic Flame into the Stadium. It is passed through the athletes to the final Torchbearer, who will ceremoniously light the Cauldron, indicating the beginning of the Games. The Flame will continue to burn for the whole of the Games.

Creative team

A host of world-class British directors and producers are leading the artistic team to stage the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Performers

A total cast of 15,000 will take part in the London 2012 Opening and Closing Ceremonies, which will be watched by an estimated audience of four billion. 

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Posted in: London 2012 Olympic Games,Opening Ceremony

Suresh Kalmadi not allowed to attend London Olympics opening ceremony

Suresh Kalmadi will not be allowed to attend the opening ceremony of the London Olympics and cannot leave the country till July 27. Checking his plans, the Delhi High Court said that it "cannot remain a passive spectator." Mr Kalmadi is President of the Indian Olympics Association, but has agreed that the organization will not be managed by him while he is being tried for corruption. He spent close to a year in prison on corruption charges related to his term as the chairman of the Organising Committee for the Commonwealth Games, held in India in 2010.

The court said today that it could not stop Mr Kalmadi from attending the Games in his individual capacity - but by banning him from travel till the opening ceremony takes place, that's ruled out for the Lok Sabha MP. His lawyer had argued that he would not be representing the government at the Olympics.

Mr Kalmadi will, most likely, be able to travel to London in time to attend meetings of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). He is an elected member of its council, which is scheduled to meet on July 31 and August 10 in London on the sidelines of the Olympics.

Mr Kalmadi has been suspended by his party, the Congress. Sports Minister Ajay Maken had urged him to voluntarily skip the opening ceremony. Mr Kalmadi refused and suggested that Mr Maken resign instead. He pointed out that he remains the President of the Asian Athletics Association and is also an elected member of the council of the IAAF.

Meanwhile Kalmadi later rebutted and said that he never did seek permission to attend the opening ceremony at the London Olympics.

He said, replying to the High Court's order, "I was never planning to attend the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympics 2012 and I never sought this permission in any case." (Read here)

"I had applied to the court to attend Council Meetings of the International Association of Athletics Federation Council in London during the Olympics. The Ld (learned) Special Judge and the Honourable Delhi High Court have granted me the permission to travel to London for this purpose," he added.

An organisation of former athletes, many of who have represented the country, had written to the International Olympic Committee to cancel his accreditation.

The High Court's verdict is based in a public interest litigation (PIL) that said Mr Kalmadi should not be allowed to represent India in any way at the Olympics because he is being tried for corruption, and public money cannot be spent on him. The petitioner also said that his presence at the opening ceremony would violate the code of ethics of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

On July 13, a special CBI court had allowed Kalmadi to go to London from July 26 to August 12 for the 2012 London Olympics.

Mr Kalmadi and 10 others have been charge-sheeted by the CBI for hiring a Swiss firm at inflated prices for timing and scoring equipment for the Commonwealth Games. This allegedly cost the government 90 crore in losses.

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Suresh Kalmadi not allowed to attend London Olympics opening ceremony

Suresh Kalmadi will not be allowed to attend the opening ceremony of the London Olympics and cannot leave the country till July 27. Checking his plans, the Delhi High Court said that it "cannot remain a passive spectator." Mr Kalmadi is President of the Indian Olympics Association, but has agreed that the organization will not be managed by him while he is being tried for corruption. He spent close to a year in prison on corruption charges related to his term as the chairman of the Organising Committee for the Commonwealth Games, held in India in 2010.

The court said today that it could not stop Mr Kalmadi from attending the Games in his individual capacity - but by banning him from travel till the opening ceremony takes place, that's ruled out for the Lok Sabha MP. His lawyer had argued that he would not be representing the government at the Olympics.

Mr Kalmadi will, most likely, be able to travel to London in time to attend meetings of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). He is an elected member of its council, which is scheduled to meet on July 31 and August 10 in London on the sidelines of the Olympics.

Mr Kalmadi has been suspended by his party, the Congress. Sports Minister Ajay Maken had urged him to voluntarily skip the opening ceremony. Mr Kalmadi refused and suggested that Mr Maken resign instead. He pointed out that he remains the President of the Asian Athletics Association and is also an elected member of the council of the IAAF.

Meanwhile Kalmadi later rebutted and said that he never did seek permission to attend the opening ceremony at the London Olympics.

He said, replying to the High Court's order, "I was never planning to attend the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympics 2012 and I never sought this permission in any case." (Read here)

"I had applied to the court to attend Council Meetings of the International Association of Athletics Federation Council in London during the Olympics. The Ld (learned) Special Judge and the Honourable Delhi High Court have granted me the permission to travel to London for this purpose," he added.

An organisation of former athletes, many of who have represented the country, had written to the International Olympic Committee to cancel his accreditation.

The High Court's verdict is based in a public interest litigation (PIL) that said Mr Kalmadi should not be allowed to represent India in any way at the Olympics because he is being tried for corruption, and public money cannot be spent on him. The petitioner also said that his presence at the opening ceremony would violate the code of ethics of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

On July 13, a special CBI court had allowed Kalmadi to go to London from July 26 to August 12 for the 2012 London Olympics.

Mr Kalmadi and 10 others have been charge-sheeted by the CBI for hiring a Swiss firm at inflated prices for timing and scoring equipment for the Commonwealth Games. This allegedly cost the government 90 crore in losses.

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Posted in: London Olympics opening ceremony

Never had plans to attend opening ceremony: Suresh Kalmadi

Indian Olympic Association's (IOA) disgraced president Suresh Kalmadi said on Wednesday that he had no intentions of attending the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Games slated for July 27.

The Delhi High Court allowed Kalmadi, sacked Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, to visit Britain but restrained him from attending the July 27 opening ceremony of the London Olympics 2012. Kalmadi is out on bail in a corruption case linked to the 2010 Commonwealth Games here.

Kalmadi said he had sought permission from the court to attend the council meeting of the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) in London in his capacity as the president of the Asian Athletics Association (AAA).

"I was never planning to attend the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics and I never sought this permission in any case," Kalmadi said in a statement.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw said: "We are not allowing him to attend the opening ceremony."

The court directed Kalmadi not to leave the country before July 27, the day when the Olympics opening ceremony would be held in London.

Advocate Rahul Mehra filed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking direction to restrain Kalmadi from visiting London. He has said Kalmadi was going to attend the Games at public expense and in violation of the International Olympic Committee ( IOC) code of ethics.

Kalmadi told the court that he was leaving for London in his individual capacity and not in his official capacity as the IOA president.

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Posted in: 2012 London Games,Indian Olympic Association

2012 Olympics: Olympic opening ceremony rehearsals attract 60,000 people

The Olympic opening ceremony is giving the final rehearsal before the world sees the opening of the Olympic Games 2012. While it sounds very simple, this is the last chance to make sure all the pieces are in place before London becomes the center of attention. With over 60,000 people expected to make their way to the Olympic Park on Wednesday night to see the production, this is as good as the real event, except it won’t be broadcast on live television.

The rehearsals are promising a first look of Danny Boyle's vision, from beginning to end, sharing what the actual opening ceremony will be like on Thursday for the 2012 Olympics. As the performance will no doubt have every entertainer that is set to be on stage part of the program, the fans who get a chance to see the rehearsals are definitely lucky.

While some of the details of the opening ceremony have leaked out, there are many stars and moments that people don’t know about yet. Hoping to keep a few secrets, the Olympic organizers are asking people not to ruin the surprise for others by using social media to share with others after the performance. Checking Twitter and Facebook, people are hoping maybe a few of the fans watching the performance will share the details. Or maybe a photo or two.

The Olympic opening ceremony is on July 27 and will be seen around the world.

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Posted in: 2012 Olympics

London 2012 Olympics: Team USA Beats Spain 100-78 in Warmup

Team USA has the most weapons in the world, and sometimes we forget that.

As NBA fans, we pick apart players’ games and try to show why we don’t think they’re very good. It’s a method of critiquing that probably goes too far at times.

When you think of Carmelo Anthony, do you ever have to remind yourself that he’s still one of the best players in the world?

Even with the trade antics that happened in Denver, and even with his play in New York not exactly matching up with the attention he gets, it’s really hard to stop Melo when he’s cooking.

Against Spain, Team USA found itself dominated by Serge Ibaka early. Even without Marc Gasol stepping onto the floor, Spain was able to establish its presence and advantage inside in the first few minutes of the game.

But Carmelo Anthony got going, and there was nobody on Spain capable of guarding him when this happened.

Melo went to work with pull-up midrange jumpers. With the threat of his size and strength knocking guys away and his quick first step making guys play off of him, it seemed like Spain had no idea how to defend him. He created space and took advantage. He scored 23 of his 27 points in the first half, to help bring USA from what was looking like an early blowout to a blowout of their own.

Even though USA can struggle at times defensively (it never seems to put together a full game of defensive focus), the focus comes in large waves. Tyson Chandler was called for some questionable fouls early on, but instead of wilting under the lack of size, the American team rallied and ramped up the pace.

The key to countering the Spanish size was the way the U.S. attacked the ball. There was rarely a ball-handler on Spain that didn’t get harassed. The defensive pressure Team USA provides is a big-time weapon in these games. Sure, it can’t bang inside, but it can make it nearly impossible for you to get the ball inside.

The pressure on the perimeter led to passes without much strength or accuracy to them. When that happened, LeBron, Kobe, Durant and anybody else stalking the wings for the U.S. were able to pounce on the ball and turn it the other way.

There were times when the pressure didn’t work and the U.S. gave up plays inside. But it was the give-and-take of constant pressure designed to be high-risk, high-reward.

With Carmelo being the spark in the first half, Kevin Durant showed out in the first few minutes of the third quarter with 10 quick points. He did it with an assassin’s touch, firing away from long range whenever the Spanish players were foolish enough to leave him open.

The two-man game with LeBron and Durant seemed almost unfair, and could be a sign of things to come in the Olympics.

There’s literally nothing an opposing team can do against it.

Both LeBron and Durant have incredible playmaking instincts and showed it in this game. Spain or any other opponent can load up on that strong side, but then it has to live with being picked apart from the weak side.

And LeBron might have been the most important weapon of all. Not only did he finish with 25 points, but he also was predatory on defense and facilitated the offense beautifully all night.

For much of the night, Team USA was in control. Even when Spain went to zone for much of the third-quarter stretch when it cut the deficit to 12, the U.S. responded by creating more turnovers and turning them into scoring chances.

An interesting thing to note and keep in the back of our minds as the Olympics begin on Sunday is that the U.S. seemed to have its best success when it had a lineup of its best weapons.

It went small with a lineup of all individual weapons—including LeBron James, Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant. It had to go to this mainly because of Tyson Chandler’s foul trouble, but it ended up working.

These five individual weapons always had an isolation advantage, and they managed to play extremely well together. And that’s why the U.S. seems to have an advantage over every team that stands in its way of the gold medal.

In 2004, this was a team of individuals who didn’t know how to play with each other.

Eight years later, the USA still has the most weapons in the world, and Coach K knows how to use them. 

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Posted in: London 2012 Olympics

Olympic gold medal is the pinnacle: Murray

Andy Murray has vivid memories of Usain Bolt's blistering 100 metres at the Beijing Olympics but the British number one hopes to miss out on watching the sprinter try and repeat that feat in London, by being too busy winning his first tennis gold medal.

At his Olympic debut in Beijing, Murray, who carried the Olympic torch through Wimbledon's Centre Court on Monday, suffered the massive shock of losing his first round singles match to Taiwan's lowly ranked Lu Yen-hsun in straight sets.

"For me, the memory I have from the last Olympics in Beijing was watching the 100 metres final and seeing what Usain Bolt did there was pretty amazing," he told reporters at a Team GB tennis press conference at the Wimbledon Olympic Tennis venue. 

"I got to see the boxing and the badminton but that was because I lost early in the singles so I had some time to do that," he added. "I hope that is not the case this time."

At the London Games, the men's tennis final is being held on August 5 - the same day as the 100 metre final - and on the same court where Murray was reduced to tears after Switzerland's Roger Federer beat him to capture his seventh Wimbledon crown.

Murray, who is seeded third for the tournament after Rafa Nadal's withdrawal through injury, has said preparing for the Olympics has helped him get over that defeat, which also continued the host nation's 76-year wait for a men's grand slam champion and the Olympics title would more than make up for it.

"In terms of achievement, winning a gold medal is the pinnacle of sport and would be right up there with anything I have done so far," the 25-year-old Scot added.

With the tennis event kicking off on Saturday, GB tennis team leader Paul Hutchins said they were still to make a decision about attending Friday evening's opening ceremony.

"We are just going to make up our mind once we have seen the draw to see when people are playing," he said, sat at a podium whose usual distinctive Wimbledon Championships backdrop had been covered over with the London 2012 logo.

"There is this Olympic spirit among all the athletes and they are very conscious they want to go to the opening ceremony because it is a once in a lifetime opportunity. But the first call must be, from the players point of view, their performance the next day."

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Posted in: London Olympics