2012 Olympics: How to watch the opening ceremony
The 2012 Olympics opening ceremony will kick off a weekend of exciting Olympic coverage. After the opening ceremony, a look at the highlights coming up Saturday.
The royal barge Gloriana carries the Olympic flame along the river Thames on the final day of the Torch Relay, Friday, in London. The opening ceremonies for the 2012 London Olympics will be held Friday evening.
Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP
The wait is finally over!
Today, the world will be watching the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony. An estimated 1 billion people are expected to tune in.
To watch the ceremony sure to celebrate all things British, complete with the Queen, William Shakespeare, James Bond, and Paul McCartney, tune to NBC. The network will be broadcasting the ceremony on a tape delay so it will begin at 7:30 p.m. EDT, 6:30 p.m. CDT, and 7:30 p.m. PDT.
Danny Boyle's "Isles of Wonder" opening ceremony show will celebrate the green and pleasant land of meadows, farms, cottages, village cricket matches and bird song, but also dwell on Britain's darker industrial past, reports the Associated Press. That's not a surprise from a movie director who depicted Scottish heroin addicts in "Trainspotting" and Indian poor in "Slumdog Millionaire."
Though the opening ceremony will not be available for live streaming on nbcolympics.com tonight, the website will be chock-full of coverage Saturday.
Archery, badminton, basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, cycling, equestrian, fencing, men's gymnastics, handball, judo, rowing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, and weightlifting all begin Saturday. Coverage of soccer will continue. They will all be streamed live on nbcolympics.com (though a cable subscription is required to watch). Check the site for specific times.
The highlights for tomorrow's lineup include the men's 400-meter individual medley in swimming, where Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte will go head to head for the first time in these games. Men's gymnastics should also feature an exciting lineup as Bronx-born John Orozco and Cuban-American Danell Leyva begin their quest for gold.