July 10, 2012, 2:47 pm -- /EPR NETWORK/ -- Some 10,000 volunteers have been drafted in to create a British country idyll for the London 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony. The show is being directed by filmmaker Danny Boyle, who said the £27m extravaganza will show ‘a picture of ourselves as a nation'.
The spectacle will be launched by a 23-tonne bell. Produced by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, it recalls the beginning of British peacetime across the centuries, when London rang bells to announce the end of war.
The ceremony - with a set featuring meadows, fields and rivers - has been dubbed ‘Green and Pleasant' by organisers. Intensive cast rehearsals have been underway for months, with performers portraying scenes of ploughing farmers, village green cricket matches, family picnics, and other (largely) English archetypes.
The show will also feature barnyard animals, including three sheepdogs, two goats, 12 horses and 70 sheep. The ceremony is expected to attract a worldwide audience of one billion.
Danny Boyle's creation aside, the ceremony will consist of receiving the Queen, the parade of nations, the Olympic anthem, the oaths, and the arrival and lighting of the Olympic Torch. The entire evening will run from 7.30-10.30.
Fans travelling tothe London Olympics can find near-by, affordable accommodation at LondonTown.com. The capital's primary information websiteis offering a number of discounts on double rooms close to the Olympic Stadium.
The Town Hall Hotel & Apartments in Bethnal Green is just a couple of miles from the Olympic Stadium. They are offering a 62% discount on their usual rate, bringing the cost of a night's stay down from £528 to £203.
For a night at the Crowne Plaza London Docklands, it will cost £185, which is a 53% reduction on the standard rate. The Crowne Plaza is a four-star hotel around three miles from the Olympic village.
To see more hotels in London and information on the 2012 London Olympics, visit LondonTown.com.
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