London 2012 Olympic Games Opening CeremonyHuney'z World

Hi Huneybees,

The London 2012 Olympic Games has officially kickstarted while we, in Singapore were mostly in dreamland. I startled up at 6am to check out my Twitter feeds to find it flooded and when I logged into Youtube to watch it LIVE, they were already introducing the Team from Zambia. *WHAT! I Missed TEAM SINGAPORE?!*

Fans gather in Trafalgar Square to celebrate the opening of the Games.

The Orbit and the Olympic Stadium form a spectacular backdrop as the Red Arrows perform a flypast ahead of the Opening Ceremony. The evening started with fighter jets streaming red, white and blue smoke and roaring over the stadium, packed with a buzzing crowd of 60,000 people, at 8:12 p.m. - or 20:12 in the 24-hour time observed by Britons.

The Olympic Stadium, in East London became the focus of millions of people around the world as the Opening Ceremony, titled 'Isles of Wonder', gets underway last night. Do you know that London is the only country to welcome Olympic for 3 times?

The Orbit and the Olympic Stadium form a spectacular backdrop as the Red Arrows perform a flypast ahead of the Opening Ceremony.

HRH The Prince of Wales and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall meet Masie McCubbin from the London 2012 Ceremonies Costume team as they visit the costume store at 3 Mills Studio in east London.
A total of 23,000 costumes are being created for the four London 2012 Ceremonies this summer.

The Olympic Stadium is transformed into British countryside for the opening scene ‘Green and Pleasant’ahead of the Opening Ceremony for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Oscar Winner and one of Britain’s most successful filmmakers and director of “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Trainspotting” - Danny Boyle, the Opening Ceremony Artistic Director, had a ball with his favored medium, mixing filmed passages with live action in the stadium to hypnotic effect, with 15,000 volunteers taking part in the show.

"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."

Performers playing the roles of HRH The Queen and James Bond parachute spectacularly out of a helicopter hovering above the stadium during the Opening Ceremony.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson and his wife Marina Wheeler pose inside the Olympic Stadium

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and his wife Catherine, and Prince Harry watching the ceremony.

He seeks inspiration in British culture from Shakespeare to 007 to create an astonishing opening ceremony for the 2012 Olympic Game. Not only there was a a stand-in for Queen Elizabeth II parachuting into Olympic Stadium, the 86-year-old monarch herself stood solemnly while a children's choir serenaded her with "God Save the Queen," and members of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force raised the Union Jack.

The Union flag is raised by members of the armed forces during the Opening Ceremony.

Much of the opening ceremony was an encyclopedic review of British music history, from a 1918 Broadway standard adopted by the West Ham soccer team to The Who's "My Generation" to "Bohemian Rhapsody," by still another Queen.

He led off his spectacular in his favored medium: A movie depicted a high-speed flyover of the Thames, the river that winds like a vein through London and was the gateway for the city's rise over the centuries as a great global hub of trade and industry.

The Olympic Rings light up the stadium during the Opening Ceremony at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

To open the ceremony, children popped balloons with each number from 10 to 1, leading a countdown that climaxed with Bradley Wiggins, the newly crowned Tour de France champion. Wearing his race-winner's yellow jersey, Wiggins rang a 23-ton Olympic Bell from the same London foundry that made Big Ben and Philadelphia's Liberty Bell.

Its thunderous chime echoed around the 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium. Bells in Britain have traditionally pealed to celebrate the end of war and the crowning of kings and queens, and now for the opening of a 17-day festival of sports.

The show then shifted to a portrayal of Britain that Britons cling to - a place of meadows, farms, sport on village greens, picnics and Winnie-the-Pooh, A.A. Milne's bear who has delighted generations of British children tucked warmly in bed.

Village cricketers play on the pitch during the pre-show of the Opening Ceremony. This section of the Ceremony depicts a British meadow, with people following traditional country pursuits – farmers tilling the soil, sport being played on the village green and families enjoying picnics.

Farmers of the British countryside during the pre-show prior to the Opening Ceremony. This section of the Ceremony was accompanied by choirs from the four nations of the UK. Each choir performed in a place as powerfully symbolic as the song itself – ‘Jerusalem’ was sung in the Stadium in London; ‘Londonderry Air’ came from the Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland; ‘Flower of Scotland’ from Edinburgh Castle, Scotland, and ‘Bread of Heaven’ from Rhossili Beach, Wales.

A view of the the set depicting the English countryside during the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on 27 July.

The rush of images showed a cricket match, the London Tube and the roaring, abundant seas that buffet and protect this island nation - set to a pulsating soundtrack including snippets of the Sex Pistols' version of "God Save the Queen" - a anti-establishment punk anthem once banned by the BBC.

A view of the the set depicting the English countryside during the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on 27 July.

But the British ideal - to quote poet William Blake, of "England's green and pleasant land" - then took a darker, grittier turn.

The set was literally torn asunder, the hedgerows and farm fences carried away, as Boyle shifted to the industrial transformation that revolutionized Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries, the foundation for an empire that reshaped world history. Belching chimneys rose where only moments earlier sheep had trod. The Industrial Revolution also produced terrifying weapons, and Boyle built a moment of hush into his show to honor those killed in war.

Performers in the role of Mary Poppins float inside the stadium during the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium

Thunderous applause greeted the British team, marched to the David Bowie track “Heroes.” A helicopter showered the athletes and stadium with 7 billion tiny pieces of paper — one for each person on Earth.

Other than popular British singers and icons, 2 other famous characters made their appearances.

A giant puppet of Lord Voldermort and the Queen of Hearts depict villainous characters from British literature during the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on 27 July.
This segment honours two of Britains’s greatest achievements, one being its amazing body of children’s literature. Peter Pan and Captain Hook, Mary Poppins, Winnie-the-Pooh, Cruella de Vil, the Queen of Hearts and Harry Potter were all created by British writers.

British actor Rowan Atkinson in his role as Mr Bean takes part in the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on 27 July. Atkinson is one of the best-known British comic talents of his generation. With his friend Richard Curtis, he created two memorable television characters, Mr Bean and Blackadder, and has appeared in many successful West End stage productions and feature films.

Dancers display the initials GOSH - Great Ormond Street Hospital, one of its most-loved hospitals to which author JM Barrie bequeathed all the royalties from his masterpiece, Peter Pan. This section of the Opening Ceremony honours Britain’s greatest achievements including its amazing body of children’s literature.

A performer in a giant ball is passed around over the spectators in the mosh pit

Even the big guy, British scientist and Londoner Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web turned up at the ceremony. What a rare chance to see the father of www.

Born and bred in East London, rapper Dizzee Rascal performs ‘Bonkers' during the "frankie & june say... Thanks Tim" segment of the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on 27 July.
'Bonkers'was the first single from his fourth album, Tongue n’ Cheek. It went straight to number one in the UK charts on release in May 2009.

British solo artist Emeli Sande sings 'Abide With Me' - the hymn was Mahatma Gandhi's favourite and was played by the band on the Titanic when it sank.

Fireworks light up at Tower Bridge as the bridge is raised to allow David Beckham piloting a speedboat carrying the Olympic flame through to make its way to the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony.

The boat is being piloted by David Beckham who played an important role in bringing the Games to London and has been a big supporter ever since. Carrying the Torch on the boat is Jade Bailey, a young footballer tipped to become one of the sporting stars of the future. It set off from Tower Bridge to make its way to the Olympic Stadium.

At 7.36am (Singapore time) the torch arrived at the stadium and it was time for the grand finale of the passing on the last league of the torch, lighting it up and ringing the bell....