0:00:02 > 0:00:04The Games of the 30th Olympiad 2012...
0:00:04 > 0:00:08The biggest sporting event the UK has ever seen starts this week.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10And it all begins here.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13# It's the final countdown... #
0:00:13 > 0:00:16..the City of London!
0:00:16 > 0:00:19It's the final countdown.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23So this week, as we count down to the start of the Olympic Games,
0:00:23 > 0:00:27we speak to one competitor about her medal hopes for 2012.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31We take a sneak preview at some of the Olympic venues
0:00:31 > 0:00:34and we enjoy winning hymns that will take us to the finish.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44MUSIC: "Waiting For A Star To Fall" by Boy Meets Girl
0:00:54 > 0:00:58This Friday, the eyes of the world will be on the stadium behind me
0:00:58 > 0:01:00as London launches the 30th Olympic Games.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03This whole area will be buzzing with excitement
0:01:03 > 0:01:05as London welcomes the best athletes in the world.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07All of them going for gold.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11The lucky winners will stand on top of the podium for the special moment
0:01:11 > 0:01:14when their national anthem is played in celebration.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18Our first hymn has become the unofficial national anthem of Wales.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21It's Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02The Olympic Park is home to nine competition venues,
0:04:02 > 0:04:05including the Aquatic Centre, the Basketball Arena,
0:04:05 > 0:04:09the Velodrome and, of course, the Olympic Stadium.
0:04:10 > 0:04:15The area it covers is equivalent to 357 football pitches.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18And over 46,000 people have worked on the project
0:04:18 > 0:04:22to get it ready for this spectacular sporting event.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30Construction began on the stadium behind me back in 2008.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34And with less than a week to go, it looks impressive, doesn't it?
0:04:34 > 0:04:37As the location for the opening and closing ceremonies and the athletics,
0:04:37 > 0:04:40the stadium will be the centrepiece of the Games.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43It'll be broadcast around the world
0:04:43 > 0:04:46as races are fought on the track and records are rewritten.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49Let's hope Team GB win plenty of medals.
0:04:49 > 0:04:54COMMENTATOR: It's going to be Britain one and two...!
0:04:54 > 0:04:56As the winner of two Olympic gold medals,
0:04:56 > 0:04:59Lord Coe knows all about glory.
0:04:59 > 0:05:04His vision for London 2012 is just days away from becoming a reality.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08We started with three people sitting in a pub thinking it's a good idea.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10When we get to the opening ceremony,
0:05:10 > 0:05:12we'll have 6,000 people in the organisation.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17It's a sobering thought you've done the count down from seven years,
0:05:17 > 0:05:20but really, now it's close, it's going to be there.
0:05:21 > 0:05:27The story really only starts at the time of the Games, in terms of legacy.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31I really want people to feel they came to London, had fantastic sport
0:05:31 > 0:05:36and went away feeling they'd had a big celebration.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38In a funny sort of way, it feels a bit like
0:05:38 > 0:05:41being thrown back 30-odd years to my competitive days
0:05:41 > 0:05:45where I'm now thinking I'm in the countdown to an Olympic final.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51I hope that we are able to say that we delivered a fantastic Games.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55I really want the athletes to be able to look at me
0:05:55 > 0:05:59and genuinely say, "Look, there were no stones left unturned."
0:05:59 > 0:06:03And I guess I see this through the eyes of a former competitor
0:06:03 > 0:06:06because every time you see an athlete walk out here,
0:06:06 > 0:06:08you just have to remember they've probably
0:06:08 > 0:06:11devoted half their young lives to that one moment.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15You can't, by conscience, give them anything other than
0:06:15 > 0:06:19the very best level of service that you can possibly provide them.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21COMMENTATOR: Coe wins!
0:06:21 > 0:06:23Second is Straub, third is Ovett, fourth is Busse.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28And what a comeback for Sebastian Coe!
0:06:30 > 0:06:34The sound inside locations like this velodrome will be electric
0:06:34 > 0:06:37as spectators cheer on their athletes as they strive for victory.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40Our next hymn is about overcoming the odds.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43It's become a sporting anthem, particularly for English rugby fans.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45It often echoes around stadiums.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47It's Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48MUSIC: "Waiting For A Star To Fall" by Boy Meets Girl
0:08:48 > 0:08:51The finishing touches are being put in place.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53At Friday's opening ceremony,
0:08:53 > 0:08:56the best athletes in the world will enter this stadium.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00And all of them will have huge ambitions for London 2012.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03I don't know about you, but it's making me nervous thinking about it.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06Well, for all those athletes in it to win it,
0:09:06 > 0:09:08our next hymn is one of great hope.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15The Aquatics Centre is one of 34 venues
0:11:15 > 0:11:18that will host sporting events during the Olympic Games.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21At all the venues, athletes will compete who've spent years
0:11:21 > 0:11:23preparing for their moment to shine.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26All eyes will be on Great Britain hopeful Tom Daley
0:11:26 > 0:11:30as he takes to the diving board in the hope of winning his first Olympic medal.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33And having won eight, yes, eight medals at the Beijing Olympics,
0:11:33 > 0:11:35American swimmer Michael Phelps
0:11:35 > 0:11:38will be hoping to make waves in this very pool.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40It's an opportunity for us to be inspired.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43With venues like this one opening to the public at the end of the Games,
0:11:43 > 0:11:45a legacy will of course remain.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48Look out for me in Rio in 2016(!)
0:11:52 > 0:11:55Someone else taking to the water and going for gold
0:11:55 > 0:11:59is Team GB veteran Debbie Flood.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05I've done sport all my life. I did lots of things through school.
0:12:05 > 0:12:10It wasn't until I started on a rowing machine that somebody said, "You're really good."
0:12:10 > 0:12:12And that really showed the potential there.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15But in the boat, it was so, so different.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17It really is not easy.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21I spent most of my first week swimming because I fell in so much.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24- It sounds horrendous. - THEY LAUGH
0:12:24 > 0:12:25But you love it.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29I train three times a day and it's full-on all year round.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32I don't want to be sat on the start line thinking,
0:12:32 > 0:12:34"I should have trained harder this year."
0:12:34 > 0:12:37I want to be sat there knowing I've done everything possible
0:12:37 > 0:12:41to be the best that I can be and have no regrets, really.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45- Do you think what you've got is a God-given gift?- Definitely.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47I really believe that God has given me my abilities.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49Everyone has something they're good at.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52And for me, God's given me the gift to be able to row
0:12:52 > 0:12:54and the opportunity to do that.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57I definitely feel this is where God wants me at the moment.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02London 2012 will be Debbie's third Olympic games.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05Having already won two silver medals, let's hope it's a gold.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09My first Olympic medal in Athens,
0:13:09 > 0:13:11that was my first competitive Olympics.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14COMMENTATOR: Great Britain are coming! It's a sprint to the line!
0:13:14 > 0:13:17But Germany will get it...!
0:13:17 > 0:13:20The four of us in our crew, we'd never won a senior medal before.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23We'd never won a world championships' medal or anything.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27On the medal podium, we stood there with our arms around each other.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30We all knew how much it meant. How many years we'd put into it.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33The ups and downs we'd gone through to get there.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36And you share that as a team.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39How do you cope as an athlete when the medal isn't gold?
0:13:39 > 0:13:42I really trust in God that he's got my life in his hands.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45And winning or losing, you know,
0:13:45 > 0:13:48will define me in people's eyes temporarily,
0:13:48 > 0:13:53but, um...for me, it's not going to shape me inside or change who I am.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56COMMENTATOR: They now move into a territory
0:13:56 > 0:13:58they've never been in before here
0:13:58 > 0:14:00in this women's quadruple scull!
0:14:00 > 0:14:03What springs to mind is Beijing. My second silver Olympic medal.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07And Great Britain now have allowed China to go through!
0:14:07 > 0:14:10We crossed the line and we were absolutely gutted.
0:14:10 > 0:14:11Inconsolable, really.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14It is China for the gold medal!
0:14:14 > 0:14:17It will be another time, another silver for Great Britain!
0:14:17 > 0:14:21I'll always look back on that race and be disappointed we didn't win.
0:14:21 > 0:14:22That's what we wanted to do.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25Medals are fantastic and I love winning,
0:14:25 > 0:14:29but I'm not going to take my medals with me when I pass away.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32In the light of eternity, Jesus surpasses everything else.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35Let's talk some more about the all-important Olympics
0:14:35 > 0:14:38after we've heard from the Maria Fidelis Convent School
0:14:38 > 0:14:41and their singing in the glorious setting of St Paul's.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43We Shall Overcome.
0:14:47 > 0:14:54# We shall overcome
0:14:54 > 0:15:00# We shall overcome
0:15:00 > 0:15:05# We shall overcome
0:15:05 > 0:15:13# Some day
0:15:13 > 0:15:20# Deep in my heart
0:15:20 > 0:15:27# I do believe
0:15:27 > 0:15:32# We shall overcome
0:15:32 > 0:15:36# Some day
0:15:41 > 0:15:47# We'll walk hand in hand
0:15:47 > 0:15:53# We'll walk hand in hand
0:15:53 > 0:15:59# We'll walk hand in hand
0:15:59 > 0:16:06# Some day
0:16:06 > 0:16:13# Deep in my heart
0:16:13 > 0:16:19# I do believe
0:16:19 > 0:16:24# We'll walk hand in hand
0:16:24 > 0:16:29# Some day
0:16:32 > 0:16:38# We are not alone
0:16:38 > 0:16:44# We are not alone
0:16:44 > 0:16:50# We are not alone
0:16:50 > 0:16:56# Today
0:16:56 > 0:16:58# Ohhhhhhhhh
0:16:58 > 0:17:04# Deep in my heart
0:17:04 > 0:17:10# I do believe
0:17:10 > 0:17:15# We are not alone
0:17:15 > 0:17:21# Today
0:17:24 > 0:17:29# Deep in my heart
0:17:29 > 0:17:36# I do believe
0:17:36 > 0:17:41# We shall overcome
0:17:41 > 0:17:48# Some day. #
0:17:52 > 0:17:55Debbie has her eyes firmly on the finish line
0:17:55 > 0:17:58and is hoping for an extra-special win on home soil.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03My ambition for 2012 is to come back with a gold medal, definitely.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05Training is going really well. It's very full-on.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09But we're really, really excited about racing.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11For me, it's going to be the greatest honour of my career
0:18:11 > 0:18:14to represent my country in front of a home crowd.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16The atmosphere will be electric.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19When you're on that start line, do you pray for a win?
0:18:19 > 0:18:21I would never pray for a win. I would always pray that
0:18:21 > 0:18:24I can absolutely do my best and glorify God in that.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27I think to pray for a win would be wrong.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30Because in sport, if someone else is better than you, then they win.
0:18:30 > 0:18:35We have that will to want to do it and belief that we can do it, but
0:18:35 > 0:18:39win or lose will depend on how fast everyone else goes.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42Do you find that as you are getting closer to the main event
0:18:42 > 0:18:44that you return to your faith more?
0:18:44 > 0:18:46Yeah. The pressure is building.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49For me, I come back to my favourite Bible passage in Proverbs -
0:18:49 > 0:18:51"Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53"Lean not on your own understanding.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57"But in all your ways, acknowledge him and he will direct your path."
0:18:59 > 0:19:02We know that you've got a faith. What about Christian music?
0:19:02 > 0:19:04- Do you have a favourite hymn?- Yeah.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06My favourite hymn is In Christ Alone.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09- It's a fantastic song. - By Stuart Townend.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11It just sums up everything for me.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14"From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny."
0:19:14 > 0:19:16It's just fantastic words.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51All these venues will be bursting with activity over the coming weeks.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53Almost 15,000 athletes will take part
0:22:53 > 0:22:55in the Olympics and Paralympics.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58Competing for just 800 gold medals.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01They'll all be hoping to make their mark in history.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03Just imagine being a member of Team GB
0:23:03 > 0:23:05and stepping out in front of your home crowd.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07It doesn't get better than that, does it?
0:26:33 > 0:26:37Eternal God, we pray for those preparing for the London Olympic
0:26:37 > 0:26:40and Paralympic Games.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42For the competitors, their loved ones,
0:26:42 > 0:26:45and for the thousands who will support them.
0:26:46 > 0:26:51We pray for the spirit of humility, both in success and defeat.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54And may the love of God transcend all competition.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56Amen.
0:27:05 > 0:27:11# Amazing grace
0:27:11 > 0:27:17# How sweet the sound
0:27:17 > 0:27:20# That saved
0:27:20 > 0:27:23# A wretch
0:27:23 > 0:27:28# Like me
0:27:28 > 0:27:34# I once was lost
0:27:34 > 0:27:39# But now I'm found
0:27:39 > 0:27:42# Was blind
0:27:42 > 0:27:46# But now
0:27:46 > 0:27:51# I see
0:27:51 > 0:27:54# 'Twas grace
0:27:54 > 0:27:56# That taught
0:27:56 > 0:28:02# My heart to fear
0:28:02 > 0:28:05# And grace
0:28:05 > 0:28:08# My fears
0:28:08 > 0:28:14# Relieved
0:28:14 > 0:28:18# How precious
0:28:18 > 0:28:21# Did that
0:28:21 > 0:28:26# Grace appear
0:28:26 > 0:28:28# The hour
0:28:28 > 0:28:36# I first believed
0:28:36 > 0:28:41# When we've been there
0:28:41 > 0:28:45# 10,000 years
0:28:45 > 0:28:49# Bright shining
0:28:49 > 0:28:54# As the sun
0:28:54 > 0:28:59# We've no less days
0:28:59 > 0:29:03# To sing God's praise
0:29:03 > 0:29:06# Than when
0:29:06 > 0:29:13# We'd first begun
0:29:13 > 0:29:17# Than when
0:29:17 > 0:29:20# We'd first
0:29:20 > 0:29:28# Begun. #
0:29:32 > 0:29:34It's really not that long now.
0:29:34 > 0:29:36The final team selections have been made,
0:29:36 > 0:29:40the training is nearly complete and the tickets have all been sold.
0:29:40 > 0:29:44Up to 80,000 spectators will fill that stadium on Friday
0:29:44 > 0:29:47to welcome the world's finest athletes.
0:29:47 > 0:29:49The final countdown to an event
0:29:49 > 0:29:52that will go down in sporting history really has begun.
0:29:52 > 0:29:54I don't know about you, but I can't wait.
0:29:54 > 0:29:58Let's finish on a high note with a great hymn, To God Be The Glory.
0:33:26 > 0:33:30On next week's programme, a subject we've not dared talk about before,
0:33:30 > 0:33:34even though many experience it. We'll be thinking about loneliness.
0:33:34 > 0:33:38We'll discuss the agonies of waiting for Mr or Mrs Right
0:33:38 > 0:33:40and hear about a Bible-based initiative
0:33:40 > 0:33:42that tackles loneliness head-on.
0:33:42 > 0:33:44Plus, of course, more heavenly hymns.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd