Olympic Opening Ceremony Details Revealed

Danny Boyle said the ceremony is an attempt to 'capture a picture of ourselves as a nation'

A detailed model of the set's design has now been revealed

The field at the Olympic Stadium in east London will be transformed into rolling British countryside for the opening ceremony of the London 2012 games.

The set will be one of the biggest ever created and feature real grass, an oak tree, and synthetic clouds suspended from wires above the stadium - one of which will produce rain.
Real farmyard animals will be grazing on the set, including 30 sheep, 12 horses, three cows, two goats, 10 chickens, 10 ducks, nine geese and three sheepdogs.
Each of Britain's four nations will also be represented by Maypoles topped with the national flower; the rose of England, the thistle of Scotland, the daffodil of Wales and flax from Northern Ireland.
Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle, who is directing the £27m opening event, has praised the thousands of volunteers involved.
He said: "The ceremony is an attempt to capture a picture of ourselves as a nation, where we have come from and where we want to be.
"The best part of telling that story has been working with our 10,000 volunteers.
"I’ve been astounded by the selfless dedication of the volunteers, they are the purest embodiment of the Olympic spirit and represent the best of who we are as a nation."

In Numbers: The Opening Ceremony

Work is now underway to create the set in time for the opening event on July 27.
Lighting will soon be installed, along with a one million watt sound system.
A team of wardrobe staff are still working to produce 23,000 costumes for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.
Lord Coe, chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (Locog), said the ceremony will make the nation proud.
He added: "With a worldwide TV audience of a billion people and a cast of over 10,000 talented volunteers, I’m sure that Danny’s ceremony will be a fantastic celebration that will welcome the 10,500 athletes from around the world and make our nation proud."