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| London 2012: Olympics opening ceremony details revealed | London 2012: Olympics opening ceremony details revealed |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| The Olympic Stadium will be transformed "into the British countryside" for the opening ceremony of the Games on 27 July, which has a £27m budget. | |
| A cast of 10,000 volunteers will help recreate country scenes, against a backdrop featuring farmyard animals and landmarks like Glastonbury Tor. | A cast of 10,000 volunteers will help recreate country scenes, against a backdrop featuring farmyard animals and landmarks like Glastonbury Tor. |
| The opening scene will be called "Green and Pleasant", artistic director Danny Boyle revealed. | The opening scene will be called "Green and Pleasant", artistic director Danny Boyle revealed. |
| He added the ceremony would create "a picture of ourselves as a nation." | |
| "The best way to tell that story is through working with real people," said Boyle, who has reserved a role for NHS nurses in proceedings. | "The best way to tell that story is through working with real people," said Boyle, who has reserved a role for NHS nurses in proceedings. |
| There have already been 157 cast rehearsals and Boyle added: "I've been astounded by the selfless dedication of the volunteers, they are the pure embodiment of the Olympic spirit and represent the best of who we are as a nation." | There have already been 157 cast rehearsals and Boyle added: "I've been astounded by the selfless dedication of the volunteers, they are the pure embodiment of the Olympic spirit and represent the best of who we are as a nation." |
| Europe's largest bell will ring inside the stadium to start the Shakespeare-inspired spectacle, featuring 900 children. | |
| One billion people are expected to watch the opening ceremony. | |
| Boyle, best known for directing Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire and Trainspotting, said the show was inspired by The Tempest and would be about a land recovering from its industrial legacy. | |
| The Stadium's 27-tonne bell was cast at London's Whitechapel Foundry, where 13.5-tonne Big Ben was cast in 1856, and is inscribed with a quote from The Tempest's Caliban: "Be not afeard, the isle is full of noises". | |
| It will hang at one end of the stadium, and Boyle said he wanted people to hear it "for hundreds of years". | |
| A full dress rehearsal will be held for a capacity crowd of 80,000 in the Olympic Stadium, which will be fitted with a million-watt sound system. | |
| More to follow. | More to follow. |