http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/london-games/londons-games-moment-arrives/...

London's Games moment arrives
BY: PETER WILSON IN THE OLYMPIC STADIUM From: The Australian July 28, 2012 6:32AM


The royal barge Gloriana carries the Olympic flame along the river Thames, ahead of the opening ceremony. Source: AP

LONDON's Olympic moment has arrived with the start of the opening ceremony at the main stadium in east London.

The ceremony kicked off at 9pm local time with a 10-second countdown crowned by the ringing of the largest bell in Europe by Britain's first Tour de France winner, Bradley Wiggins.

A poorly timed thunderstorm saw rain fall on the main stadium just 34 minutes before the end of the city's seven-year countdown.

The rain came just as the Queen left Buckingham Palace for the drive to the Olympic Park in east London, raising memories of last month's rained-out boat parade on the Thames to celebrate her 60th anniversary on the throne.

After weeks of steady rain London had basked in several days of sunshine before the ominous heavy clouds over the ceremony but the rain shower did not dampen the excitement in the stadium for the launch of the 30th Olympiad, the third time that London has played host after 1908 and 1948.

The Red Arrows acrobatic jets flew over a sell-out crowd of 62,000 in the stadium trailing red, white and blue smoke at the symbolic time of 20:12 or 8.12pm London time (5.12am AEST).

Thousands of bells had rung for three minutes in churches, public halls and the iconic “Big Ben” tower at Westminster to herald the opening ceremony in east London.

It was the first time that Big Ben had rung outside its normal schedule since the funeral of George VI 60 years ago, and London was braced for its greatest sporting event amid its biggest peacetime security operation.

The show began with the floor of the stadium converted into a farmyard idyll to show Olde England with village scenes of a “green and pleasant land” as hundreds of performers in period costume strolled amid 70 sheep, 12 horses, 10 chickens, 10 ducks, nine geese, three cows, three sheepdogs and two goats.

A top-hatted Kenneth Branagh recited a verse from Shakespeare's The Tempest before the idyllic rural scene burst into urban life, in the most exciting part of the ceremony, a display of glorious pandemonium devoted to London's thriving, chaotic energy.

The stadium was transformed into a harsh industrial landscape as six smoking factory chimneys pushed up out of the ground and thousands of performers erupted into displays of trade unionism, migration, social upheaval and protest movements.

There was even a nod to a lively free press, which is not the most popular institution in Britain at the moment, in the form of old-style street vendors selling the “Daily Sketch.”

Ironworkers forged five huge iron rings, which rose into the air to form the Olympic symbol, glowing red and showering sparks.

More than 100 heads of state or government were inside the stadium, which was protected by security helicopters and anti-missile batteries on surrounding residential blocks.

The Olympic torch had been cheered by large crowds as it was rowed down the River Thames to the Olympic Park, which will be renamed Queen Elizabeth Park after the Olympics and Paralympics.

Just over half the Australian team planned to take part in the traditional atheletes' march into the stadium as 208 competitors, including the world's best hurdler Sally Pearson, and 36 team officials prepared to enjoy the event.

Most of the Opals women's basketball team abandoned their original plans for an early night ahead of their first match on Sunday, instead opting to watch teammate Lauren Jackson carry the Australian flag.

The other flag bearers included Usain Bolt of Jamaica, Maria Sharapova of Russia, Britain's Chris Hoy, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, and South Africa's Caster Semenya, the 800m runner who was last year forced to take tests to prove her gender.

The show's director Danny Boyle spoke to the stadium crowd to dedicate the opening ceremony's artistic performance to the 15,000 volunteers who were helping to stage it.

“This is their show, they really are the best of us,” he said.

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon then appeared on four huge screens above the stadium roof to pay a tribute to the Olympic movement as a champion of peace.

The final tickets for the opening ceremony sold out five hours before the show for the top price of 2012 or $A3040.

Mystery surrounded the identity of the person who would light the cauldron as speculation included the Queen in her Diamond Jubilee Year, Sir Roger Bannister, Sir Steve Redgrave and former England football captain David Beckham.