The 2012 Olympic Games begin tonight with the opening ceremonies in London being broadcast at 7:30 p.m. on NBC.
The ceremonies will actually be taking place at 4 p.m., but NBC has chosen to delay the broadcast by three and a half hours. Oddly enough, NBC will be streaming every event except the opening ceremonies live on nbcolympics.com.
The $42 million event is being orchestrated by award-winning director and producer Danny Boyle, and his “Isles of Wonder” will feature a mix of history, dance, and music.
He talked about the ceremonies via London2012.com: “Our Isles of Wonder salutes and celebrates the exuberant creativity of the British genius in an Opening Ceremony that we hope will be as unpredictable and inventive as the British people.”
More than a billion viewers are expected to tune in around the world.
According to Jill Lawless of the Associated Press, Boyle is rumored to be incorporating Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland, James Bond, William Blake and former Beatle Paul McCartney into his show. The ceremonies are expected to conclude with McCartney performing “Hey Jude”, one of the Beatles’ greatest hits.
Naturally, the royal family will be involved, and according to Lawless, the Queen of England may even deliver the speech to declare the games open.
Starting tomorrow and throughout the Olympics, NBC’s primetime coverage, which includes most of the big events such as swimming, gymnastics, and beach volleyball, will start at 8 p.m. nightly.
