All eyes on London

A global audience of up to 4 billion people is expected to watch the opening ceremony of the Olympics

The eyes of the world will be on Britain today, for the opening of the 30th Olympic Games. The 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony will have an extremely difficult task to outdo the stellar and absolutely breathtaking performance put on in Beijing four years ago, but as usual, it'll make for must-see television. The Olympics celebrates both the pinnacle of human physical achievement and the coming together of nations, rich and poor however, the success of the event depends on the efforts of volunteers as much as anyone.

I of course, will be rooting for both the Canadian and Nigerian athletes and wish them every success. The success of London 2012 will be judged on the smooth running of the event itself, and the mark it leaves behind it. I believe London Olympics is already a triumph in at least one way as for the first time, every competing nation including the repressive Saudi Arabia is represented by at least one female athlete.

The opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics begins at 4pm ET and ends more that three hours later, the three hour showcase created by Oscar-winning "Slumdog Millionaire" director Danny Boyle and will be watched by a projected crowd of 60,000 in the main stadium built in the run-down area of London's East End and a global audience of more than one billion.

Spectators will be urged to join in sing-a-longs and help create spectacular visual scenes at an event set for the sporting extravaganza when the 16,000 athletes form the 204 countries share the thrill of victory and despair of defeat with about 11 million visitors.

So it's that time of the year for everyone to to sit back, relax and get into the Olympic spirit. LET THE GAMES BEGIN.