At last the much awaited London Olympics 2012 is starting today. Bang the seven-year anticipation ends today with a spectacular opening ceremony under the aegis of noted Hollywood director Danny Boyle. The presentation that shall be viewed by thousands live and billions on the small screen. The Oscar-winning filmmaker is said to have enlisted the likes of Sir Paul McCartney and James Bond star Daniel Craig to play a part in the £27m event. The three-hour extravaganza will welcome the global athletes to the 17 days athletic spectacle which will be fiercely competed by global teams.
Thousands of VIPs including some 120 national leaders are in town for the event, with guests ranging from Angelina Jolie and US First Lady Michelle Obama to the king of Swaziland. Germany's Angela Merkel and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda are among the leaders set to attend. Some may grab honours, some may despair, some may entertain, while some may remorse and more, all this in one place in this universe is London, for the moment. Fans of various countries are turning up for the events and it is going to be a global metropolis out there in London. Do keep tab on this edition of the latest happenings in London Olympics 2012.
Opening Ceremony: The opening ceremony will begin at 9 p.m. locally. That's 4 p.m. on the east coast, 1 p.m. in the bay and the rest of the west coast. The ceremony shall begin with the sound of a 27-ton bell, the largest harmonically tuned bell in the world, forged at London's 442-year-old Whitechapel Bell Foundry, which made London's Big Ben and Philadelphia's Liberty Bell. Europe’s largest bell will ring inside the stadium to start the Shakespeare-inspired spectacle, featuring 900 children.
Olympic Torch: After 69 days traveling the length and breadth of the UK, the Olympic Flame takes to the River Thames on the morning of Friday 27 July. The Flame will arrive at the Olympic Stadium today evening during the Opening Ceremony, where the cauldron will be lit and stay alight until being extinguished on the final day of the Games.
Doodle game: Google has come up with its doodle today while Mozilla had come up with its London Olympics 2012 doodle yesterday itself. Google doodle shows 5 athletes - incidentally also the number of rings in the Olympic logo - playing different Olympic sports. While Mozilla's had the Olympic flames.
US Team: Fencing star Mariel Zagunis leads the U.S. team in the opening ceremony of the Olympics. the two-time gold medalist will serve as US flag-bearer on Friday night at the London Olympics 2012. "I'm just going to focus on not tripping, not letting the flag touch the ground and doing everything right," she said at a news conference Thursday.
Israel sad tale: Israel's team is getting ready for the London Olympics 2012 with heavy hearts. The team's remembers its 11 Israeli athletes and coaches who were killed in Munich by Palestinian gunmen in the the 1972 Olympics. This year it is the 40th anniversary. Israeli swim coach Chanan Sterling is trying his best to keep his athletes focused, given the constant coverage in London and beyond of that terrible day 40 years ago. Amidst much speculation over the Israel team's expression of sadness, Efrain Zinger, chief of the Israeli Olympic delegation, said the team has no special plans for the opening ceremony.
For more news on the latest happenings in London Olympics 2012, keep watching this space. London Olympics 2012 is sure to capture our cynosure the next week and Wishesh is not going to let you miss out on anything important, either. Wishesh wishes a 'Happy London Olympics 2012.' (With inputs from internet-AW AarKay)
