2012 LONDON OLYMPICS KICKS OFF TODAY: ARMENIA REPRESENTED BY 25 ATHLETES

armradio.am
27.07.2012 12:25

The opening ceremony of the London Olympics is due to take place
later after seven years of preparations.

The three-hour spectacle in the Olympic Stadium is expected to be
viewed by a global TV audience of a billion people.

The Olympic flame is heading along the Thames on the Queen’s rowbarge
Gloriana on the final day of the torch relay.

A mass bell-ringing took place for three minutes from 08:12 BST to
mark the Cultural Olympiad. Big Ben chimed 40 times during the period.

Europe’s largest bell will ring inside the Olympic stadium at 21:00
BST at the start of the £27m extravaganza.

The crowd of about 80,000 will include the Queen and a host of
dignitaries and celebrities.

The final torchbearer of the 70-day relay will be 22-year-old
basketball player Amber Charles, who played a key role in London’s
winning bid and who will carry the flame in front of City Hall and
Tower Bridge.

The will end late in the evening with the lighting of the cauldron
during the opening ceremony but the identity of the person who will
take on the honour remains a mystery, the BBC reports.

More than 10,000 athletes from 204 nations will take part in the
London Olympics.

Twenty-five athletes representing Armenia will be competing in a
variety of sports, including boxing, weightlifting, wrestling judo,
swimming, gymnastics, shooting, track & field and taekwondo.

Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan has also left for London to attend
the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Summer Olympics.

From: A. Papazian