The hype and buzz around the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony is beginning to build, but does the UK have the goods to compete with the epic 2008 opening ceremony in Beijing?

We won’t know for sure until the evening of July 27, when the eyes of the world will be firmly fixed on east London. Many of the details of the ceremony are being kept under wraps, but director Danny Boyle has fed scraps of information to the media and a clearer picture of the event is being pieced together.

Those watching the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony are likely to see an anarchic representation of the contrary nature of the Brits. Some rather curious details about the event have come to light. But how curious?

Well... Let’s start with the basics and go from there:

What time will it start?

The Olympic opening ceremony will start at 9pm on Friday July 27.

How can I watch it?

Any town with a BBC live big screen will be showing the event live, and you can watch it at home on BBC One. Read more about the BBC's coverage of the Olympics by clicking here.
 
How much will it cost?

£27 million
 
Who is confirmed to be Involved?

Danny Boyle is the director of the opening ceremony at the Olympics, and the main driving force artistically.

Co-executives include: Stephen Daldry who is the Producer of the opening ceremony, Mark Fisher (an architect who has worked on the 2008 Beijing Olympics, as well as Pink Floyd and Rolling Stones’ live tours), Hamish Hamilton (directed TV coverage of 2012 Superbowl) and Catherine Ugwu (executive producer).

  
Approximately 10,000 athletes from 205 nations will take part in the event, as well as 10,000 volunteers.

The BBC are supplying two short films for the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony; one is a short clip of Daniel Craig in character as 007, which will aim to get people excited about the new James Bond film Skyfall being released in October 2012.

LOCOG Chairman and legendary distance runner Sebastian Coe, and President of the IOC Jacques Rogge are giving speeches, whilst The Queen will declare the 2012 games open.

Perhaps in one of the most bizarre announcements by Danny Boyle, NHS nurses are to push hospital beds into the ceremony, to signify the uniqueness of the NHS (as the uniqueness of the UK is one of the main themes of the opening ceremony).

The unseen heroes of the London 2012 Olympics will be the prop makers. Spare a thought for these hard working souls! The staff at the east London ‘3 Mills Studio’ are making 2,956 props, and staff in the costume department are making 23,000 costumes.
 
 
Tell me more about Danny Boyle...

Mr Boyle is 55-years-old, from Radcliffe, Manchester. At the tender age of 55 he is already one of the most successful British film directors of all time, he has an Oscar to his name for the film Slumdog Millionaire, and he rose to fame in 1996 for his film adaptation of the Irvine Welsh novel Trainspotting. As if that wasn’t enough, he also directed 28 Days Later. He’s a bit of a star.

He says he is “honored” to have the role.
 
How many people will be watching the Olympic opening ceremony?

80,000 spectators will be watching from inside the stadium, but it is estimated that the global TV audience will be huge.

Estimates range from 1 billion to 4 billion, and obviously we won’t know until after the opening ceremony, but recent ceremonies in Beijing, Athens, and Sydney have hit between 3-4 billion.

Go to the next page to find out about the British stars who will be appearing at the Olympic opening ceremony