It’s nearly here.
Three and a half years in the making, the world’s eyes will turn to London on Friday as the games of the XXX Olympiad get under way with the opening ceremonies.
While the ceremony is customarily a closely guarded secret, some details have been released by the more than 10,000 reporters who have already convened on Olympic Park.
The ceremony’s theme is “Isles of Wonder,” inspired by William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” a play about shipwrecked castaways. An actor is due to recite a speech from the play, which says “Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises.” English actor Mark Rylance, who had been due to perform the lines, pulled out after the death of his stepdaughter. Fellow actor and director Kenneth Branagh is rumored to be his replacement.
The ceremony will open at 9 p.m. with the sound of a 27-ton bell – the largest harmonically tuned bell in the world. It was forged at London’s 442-year-old Whitechapel Bell Foundry, which made London’s Big Ben and Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell.
A prerecorded segment has been filmed inside Buckingham Palace, reportedly involving Queen Elizabeth II and Daniel Craig as secret agent James Bond. If rumor is to be believed, a stuntman dressed as 007 will parachute into Olympic stadium to start the show.
Director Danny Boyle has said the ceremony will depict Britain’s past, present and future for a global television audience estimated at 1 billion.
In addition to the athletes and performers, some 60,000 spectators will be in the stadium, including political leaders from around the world. U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and her daughters and a sprinkling of European and celebrity royalty will be among those attending.
After the ceremonies – which are rumored to be four acts, with former Beatle Paul McCartney leading the final act – the Games will officially get under way Saturday with a plethora of events from archery to swimming beginning competition.
There will be a formidable LSU presence in London, as 13 current and former Tigers will travel to London, representing five different countries in four sports.
Most notably is track star and media darling Lolo Jones, who will try and rectify her performance from the 2008 Beijing Games – where she seemingly had the 100-meter hurdles gold medal in hand until clipping the last hurdle, losing the lead and ultimately finishing seventh while breaking into tears on the track with a worldwide audience. Jones – a three-time national champion and 11-time All-American at LSU – still trains at LSU with head coach Dennis Shaver and said she holds the Tigers dear to her heart.
“When I’m running out there with the ‘USA’ on my jersey, I’m running for my country, but I will also be repping LSU and this program as a proud alumnus,” Jones told The Daily Reveille last May.
Shaver, who has nine current and former athletes competing in London, said his relationship with Jones borders on familial.
“Any time you have someone with the competitiveness [Lolo] brings to their sport at an elite athletic level, there are going to be some intense emotional moments,” Shaver told The Daily Reveille last year. “But, I have a tremendous amount of respect for Lolo, and she is very much like a daughter to me and my family.”
Joining Jones in competing for the USA are former Lady Tiger basketball standouts Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles, who will anchor the two-time defending gold medal winning USA national team.
The duo teamed together in 2008, as the Americans steamrolled the competition to bring home the gold medal in a 92-65 thrashing of Australia in the gold medal game.
Contact Chandler Rome at [email protected].