10,000 volunteers, cast and crew have been rehearsing day and night
over the last few months to make the Opening Ceremony a success, with
dress rehearsals taking place earlier this week.

Danny Boyle,
Artistic Director of the Opening Ceremony, 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.'

At the heart of the Ceremony is the Athletes' Parade, a procession of the participating teams in the Stadium, nation by nation.