Olympic Opening Ceremony

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And in the end, the love you take Is equal to the love you make ‘The End’ Lennon/McCartney

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The Orbit was designed by Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond. They called it ‘Orbit’ to symbolise a continuous journey, a creative representation of the ‘extraordinary physical and emotional effort’ that Olympians undertake in their continuous drive to do better.

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Sir Paul McCartney

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Sir Paul McCartney

Since writing his first song at the age of 14, Paul has dreamed and dared to be different. In the 60s he changed the world of music with The Beatles. Over the last 40 years he’s continued to push the boundaries as a solo artist, with Wings, as part of The Fireman, as a classical composer and one of the world’s greatest live performers.

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The ArcelorMittal Orbit sits between the Olympic Stadium and the Aquatics Centre, and allows visitors to view the whole Olympic Park from two observation platforms. It is intended to be a permanent lasting legacy of London’s hosting of the 2012 Games.

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115m

the height of the Orbit (377ft high), making it Britain’s largest piece of public art.

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AND IN THE END...

Our revels now are ended. These our actors, As I foretold you, were all spirits and Are melted into air, into thin air: And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, The cloud-capp’d towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself, Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our little life Is rounded with a sleep.

The Tempest, William Shakespeare

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The Olympic Cauldron

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Lighting the Cauldron

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Lighting the Cauldron

Thomas Heatherwick’s design of the Olympic Cauldron has been one of the most closely guarded secrets of the whole Ceremony. When the competing delegations arrived in London, they each received a copper petal – inscribed with the name of their country and the words ‘XXX Olympiad London 2012’. They carried these petals during the Athletes’ Parade before laying them down. The seven young Torchbearers move towards the centre of the field of play and ignite a single tiny flame within one of the copper petals on the ground, triggering the ignition of more than 200 petals. The Cauldron’s long, elegant stems gently rise towards each other and converge to form one great Flame of unity – a symbol of the peaceful coming together of nations that is the Olympic Games. The Cauldron will be moved to take pride of place in the Olympic Stadium within the eyesight of competing athletes – echoes of its location at Wembley for the London 1948 Games. At the end of the Games, each team will take their petal home and the London 2012 Cauldron will cease to exist. Like a flower that only blooms for the duration of the competition, it’s a temporary representation of the extraordinary transitory community that is the Olympic Games.

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A modern riddle...

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A modern riddle by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Brightness falls from air. Light comes out of the ground. A single lens – two hundred lights dance round it. Ten billion eyes look into it. But not one eye sees me – hidden in its heart. Until two hundred lights converge. At the lens’ focal point. Kindling me to flame. The light of all ten billion eyes. One fire for every nation. Brightness falls from air. Light comes out of the ground. Answer modern riddle: cauldron

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Alex Trimble

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Alex Trimble

Alex is the lead singer of Northern Irish band Two Door Cinema Club. Their debut album, Tourist History was released in 2010 and has sold over one million copies. Their follow-up, Beacon, will be released in September 2012.

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Cauldron designer, Thomas Heatherwick's work includes the internationally renowned Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2012, the Rolling Bridge in Paddington and London’s new red double-decker bus.

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A 1,000-year-old riddle...

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A 1,000-year-old riddle from the Exeter Book

Listen to the wonder of his birth. Silent husband stroke silent wife. This one comes roaring into life. In battle he is strong and wild. But a maid may make him mild. Feed him well and he will feed you. Feed him too much and he will eat you. Answer 1,000-year-old riddle: fire.

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There is a Light That Never Goes Out

Kindled from the rays of the sun at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, the Olympic Torch has spent 70 days travelling around the UK, carried by 8,000 inspirational Torchbearers chosen by their own communities for the light that they bring to the lives of others. The journey ends this evening as the final Torchbearer lights the Cauldron, marking the official start of the London 2012 Olympic Games. During the ancient Olympic Games in Greece, a fire was kept burning to symbolise and remind people of the Olympic Truce. The Torch is therefore a living, vulnerable reminder that the true ambition of the Olympics is not victory but peace. The first Torchbearer was Prometheus, who stole fire from Mount Olympus and gave it as a gift to mankind.

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History says, Don’t hope on this side of the grave. But then, once in a lifetime the longed-for tidal wave of justice can rise up, and hope and history rhyme. The Cure at Troy, Seamus Heaney