:00:31. > :00:35.Good afternoon, on this the day that the London 2012 Games
:00:35. > :00:39.officially get under way. We are here at the heart of the Games, at
:00:39. > :00:43.the Olympic Park in East London, where at 9.00pm this evening the
:00:43. > :00:46.opening ceremony will begin, watched by hundreds of millions of
:00:46. > :00:51.people across the globe. Welcome to this BBC News special,
:00:51. > :00:54.as we countdown to the Games of the 30th Olympiad. Over the next hour,
:00:54. > :00:58.we will be looking forward to that opening ceremony, the details of
:00:58. > :01:02.which are still top secret, and we will be following the Olympic flame
:01:02. > :01:08.as it makes its final journey towards the Olympic Stadium behind
:01:08. > :01:12.me. Now this is the scene right now on the River Thames. The flame is
:01:12. > :01:17.carried towards City Hall, near Tower Bridge where it's going to be
:01:17. > :01:20.handed over and kept safe until the lighting ceremony tonight. It's
:01:20. > :01:25.being transported on board the Gloriana, the Royal barge which
:01:25. > :01:31.played such a prominent role in the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. What
:01:31. > :01:37.a team of rowers they have on board there. 29 Olympians, who have rowed
:01:37. > :01:42.for Great Britain in Olympic Games, dating right back to 1948.
:01:42. > :01:47.They set off from Hampton Court Palace at around 7.30am and it's
:01:47. > :01:51.been a very long journey for them. But they are almost there. Out on
:01:51. > :01:55.the river we will be sailing alongside the Gloriana, we will
:01:55. > :01:59.hear from our correspondents there and also at Tower Bridge where the
:01:59. > :02:03.flame will be transferred to another barge and then kept safe
:02:03. > :02:07.until the beginning of that lighting ceremony this evening. We
:02:07. > :02:12.will be talking to our correspondent Jane Hill, who will
:02:12. > :02:16.be there. But first, let's show you the flame's journey, as it happened
:02:16. > :02:20.this morning. It set off from Hampton Court Palace at 7.30am
:02:20. > :02:25.after a quick visit to the famous Hampton Court maze.
:02:25. > :02:35.Now, even though you can't see or, can just about see, I can tell that
:02:35. > :02:38.you it was 19-year-old Klara Weaver carrying the torch, a double junior
:02:38. > :02:41.European rowing champion. You will be pleased to She's A Character
:02:41. > :02:46.obviously made it to the -- she obviously made it to the centre of
:02:46. > :02:50.the maze and just out in time again to hand it to the next torchbearer,
:02:50. > :02:54.a 13-year-old. Now, the Gloriana has now almost
:02:54. > :02:58.reached her destination. She is are live images you can see. She's
:02:58. > :03:02.being accompanied by a flotilla of boats and it's being carried in
:03:02. > :03:08.three different sections. They started out from Hampton Court
:03:08. > :03:14.Bridge, a host of vessels accompanying her as she goes. 450
:03:14. > :03:18.rowers in total. They will be joining the Gloriana as she heads
:03:18. > :03:23.towards Tower Bridge. Finally at her destination, and
:03:23. > :03:28.this is where the flame will be handed over. They will give it -
:03:28. > :03:32.they will be received by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, who will
:03:32. > :03:40.be there, to greet the flame when it arrives. Then the flame is going
:03:40. > :03:47.to be transferred to another barge and taken under Tower Bridge to its
:03:47. > :03:51.resting location, let's say, where it will wait until the lighting
:03:51. > :03:53.ceremony at the Olympic Stadium this evening. What a sight on the
:03:53. > :03:57.River Thames. There have been thousands and thousands of people
:03:57. > :04:03.who have turned out to see her. There you are, some of the
:04:03. > :04:13.Olympians who have taken part in Olympic Games dating back to 1948.
:04:13. > :04:13.
:04:14. > :04:18.What a moment for them as they row the flame right up to Tower Bridge.
:04:18. > :04:24.On board the Gloriana some of the torch security team who have
:04:24. > :04:29.accompanied the flame on its 70-day journey since it set out in May
:04:29. > :04:36.from Cornwall, from Land's End in Cornwall, extraordinary to think
:04:36. > :04:41.that journey is finally coming to a close. 8,000 torchbearers, almost
:04:41. > :04:46.8,000 miles. Only about a handful of miles left until the flame
:04:46. > :04:53.reaches the Olympic Park this evening.
:04:53. > :04:57.On board HMS Belfast with a wonderful view is Jane Hill.
:04:57. > :05:00.Thank you, Sophie. I feel lucky to be standing here. I have to say
:05:00. > :05:04.it's taken the spectators and everybody here somewhat by surprise,
:05:04. > :05:08.you were talking about a long journey, and a tough row down the
:05:09. > :05:13.Thames, but they've obviously done it in record time. They've made it
:05:13. > :05:20.to Tower Bridge here, practically 15 or 20 minutes in advance of
:05:20. > :05:24.their scheduled time, I think. With me, and he's been here on BBC News
:05:24. > :05:27.all day, Jock, we have been following the progress of this
:05:27. > :05:29.flotilla, the final stage of the torch. Here it is on board the
:05:30. > :05:35.Gloriana. This really is a moment for the Thames. This is a moment
:05:35. > :05:39.for the Thames. Remember that in years past the Thames was the
:05:39. > :05:44.highway for the entrance into London. We are recreating that and
:05:44. > :05:50.what better to bring in the Olympic flame than on board the Queen's row
:05:50. > :05:54.barge itself, and I can see lots of enthusiasm down there, they don't
:05:54. > :05:58.seem too tired from the trip. They're waving away. Isn't that
:05:58. > :06:03.marvellous? They got a lot of waves from everybody here on board HMS
:06:03. > :06:08.Belfast. They did indeed, as you suggest, look still very cheery. I
:06:08. > :06:13.should say, the crowds just in the last hour, we have been here all
:06:13. > :06:18.morning, both sides of the Thames absolutely packed. Thousands of
:06:18. > :06:23.people out and Tower Bridge, a sea of people as well, grabbing the
:06:23. > :06:30.very best vantage point in the capital to see this moment and to
:06:30. > :06:33.see 22-year-old Amber Charles from Newham, who is the young girl, the
:06:33. > :06:41.basketball player, who has been chosen, who will be handing over
:06:41. > :06:44.the torch. And the Gloriana just remind us, because you were an
:06:44. > :06:49.othersman, you have broken records, there is nothing you don't know
:06:49. > :06:57.about vessels on this river. Totally unique. 14 tonnes. One of
:06:58. > :07:03.the things I wouldn't want to do is be stuck, we would quickly go
:07:03. > :07:06.overboard. They're raising their oars to the flame. All coming
:07:06. > :07:11.alongside. A little secret is on board we actually got, because it's
:07:11. > :07:16.difficult to control, we have a couple of thrusters, and they can
:07:16. > :07:22.control the boat quite precisely where she is going. Noisy here on
:07:22. > :07:28.board, lots of klaxons and cheering and the helicopters up above. A
:07:28. > :07:35.really glorious moment. Remind us, the crew on board, jock, because
:07:35. > :07:44.they've assembled a fantastic mixture of Britain's best. I made a
:07:44. > :07:48.comment, they're golden Goldies, from 1948. All the way through to
:07:48. > :07:53.the Sydney Olympics, all there. Steve Williams, part of that
:07:53. > :07:57.amazing gold medal-winning four from Beijing.
:07:57. > :08:02.Even Johnnie Searle there. We are hoping and expecting that his
:08:02. > :08:12.brother, Greg, will come back with a gold medal this time. 20 years on,
:08:12. > :08:18.after his last gold medal. Mike Hart. Who really started it in 1976
:08:18. > :08:26.and re-energising of British rowing, getting their silver medal. Sarah,
:08:26. > :08:32.now head of the Olympic athletes commission in the UK, up waving
:08:32. > :08:36.away there. Gwen, I am trying to get them all in. We will talk much
:08:36. > :08:40.more about all of that, a huge cheer just went up from the crowds,
:08:40. > :08:43.particularly at the base of City Hall, they really have the best
:08:43. > :08:46.vantage point right now, because they're in full sight of the
:08:46. > :08:53.Gloriana and that cauldron burning bright there.
:08:53. > :08:56.Also, watching all of this with us today, the historian of the flame,
:08:56. > :09:02.Philip Barker, we have spoken many times through this torch relay and
:09:02. > :09:07.this is quite some fashion in which to end the relay, isn't it? This is
:09:07. > :09:13.arguably the most dramatic fashion. They had a boat in Sydney, but
:09:13. > :09:18.nothing as stylish as this. It began in the ancient Olympic ruins
:09:18. > :09:23.at the temple when the flame was lit on May 10th, came to Land's End
:09:23. > :09:26.and it was Ben aeubsly -- Ainsley, a sailor, who carried the flame and
:09:26. > :09:31.arriving here is important, because 1894 is when Tower Bridge was built,
:09:31. > :09:36.that was the year they decided to revive the Olympic Games and,
:09:36. > :09:40.therefore, it's an appropriate place. City Hall is where they're
:09:40. > :09:45.stowing the ceremony flag that Boris Johnson collected in Beijing
:09:45. > :09:48.and will be handed over to Rio after these Games. Over the road,
:09:48. > :09:53.the Tower of London where medals are kept for all the competitions
:09:53. > :09:57.of the Games of the 30th Olympiad. Kept very safe in the Tower of
:09:57. > :10:01.London. As indeed the flame was one week ago when it was brought to the
:10:01. > :10:06.Tower of London and that's where it was kept safe overnight for its
:10:06. > :10:13.first night in the host city. Jock, explain, because we are so
:10:13. > :10:19.lucky standing here on HMS Belfast, a flotilla that we are looking out
:10:19. > :10:23.at. This has been a three-stage flotilla today. Explain the other
:10:23. > :10:30.craft that have been involved. a three-stage flotilla, from
:10:30. > :10:36.Hampton Court. First of all, accompanied by the - - there are
:10:36. > :10:43.five skip rowing clubs. You have doubles with one cox. They're not
:10:43. > :10:49.sliding seats. They're flat seats. All can be a bit painful at times.
:10:50. > :10:55.Then as soon as we got down to the tideway, accompanied by members of
:10:55. > :10:58.London Youth Rowing and today the watermans cutters, which came about
:10:58. > :11:03.as a result of the great river race. A means of trying to introduce
:11:03. > :11:11.traditional rowing back on the river. The cutters there, normally
:11:11. > :11:17.rowed by some six people and you can either skull, one person, two
:11:17. > :11:24.two oars. There are 28 of these now. There's regular racing schedule for
:11:24. > :11:27.all these boats. Even there we have former Olympians, we have former
:11:27. > :11:33.record-breakers, people who have rowed oceans all taking part, all
:11:33. > :11:37.becoming part of this scene. This is what is so great about this, we
:11:37. > :11:43.are all part of this. 13 million people have watched the torch and
:11:43. > :11:49.seen and been part of the torch around. Here we have culminating in
:11:49. > :11:53.this incredible scene with the Queen's row barge.
:11:53. > :11:57.We will talk more over the course of the hour, thank you very much,
:11:57. > :12:00.for now. We will be keeping an eye on the Gloriana, of course.
:12:00. > :12:05.Sophie, we will head back east and rejoin you at the Olympic Park.
:12:05. > :12:12.Thank you very much. We will stay with those pictures, with me here
:12:12. > :12:15.is Jeremy Hunt, of course the Culture Secretary. Twoufl see those
:12:15. > :12:20.image -- wonderful to see those images of the Gloriana with the
:12:20. > :12:23.Olympic flame. Absolutely fantastic. The thing about that torch is it's
:12:23. > :12:29.really shown Britain at its best. On Friday, I was in the village I
:12:29. > :12:31.grew up in, in Surrey and the torch came through and it was like our
:12:31. > :12:35.own special Royal wedding moment happening in that village. It's
:12:35. > :12:38.done that in communities up and down the country. We think by the
:12:38. > :12:43.end of this perhaps a quarter of the population have lined the
:12:43. > :12:46.streets at some stage or another to see the torch. Incredible. Until
:12:46. > :12:50.even before yesterday it was millions, I think three million
:12:50. > :12:54.people according to Lord Coe who turned out in London alone to see
:12:54. > :12:57.the flame. Scotland, Wales, I think the thing about that torch and in
:12:57. > :13:01.fact the whole Olympics project is that it's bringing out the best in
:13:01. > :13:05.people and the best in the country and you see it in the 70,000
:13:05. > :13:09.volunteers involved in the project. The people who made that torch
:13:09. > :13:12.relay project such a success. The police, armed services, the
:13:12. > :13:15.thousands of people working for different companies and
:13:15. > :13:19.organisations. Everybody has a smile on their face. It feels like
:13:19. > :13:22.a magic has arrived in London. And indeed in the country, which is
:13:22. > :13:25.just a very, very special moment. was in Hyde Park last night when it
:13:25. > :13:30.arrived and the flame was run in there and some of the torch
:13:31. > :13:34.security team have accompanied it since it left Athens, were rather
:13:34. > :13:36.emotional. This evening, however, it arrives here at the stadium
:13:36. > :13:40.behind us, we are not sure where the cauldron will be, but that's
:13:40. > :13:44.going to be a huge moment for Britain, isn't it? That's an image
:13:44. > :13:47.that will be pronged around the -- projected around the world, up to a
:13:47. > :13:52.billion people could be watching. Or even more T will be the biggest
:13:52. > :13:56.single ad for Britain in our history. It's an incredible moment.
:13:56. > :13:59.We have a sort of national virtue of being modest sometimes, but this
:13:59. > :14:02.will not be a moment for modesty. This is going to be a moment when
:14:02. > :14:06.we have to bang the drum for all the things that we are proud of,
:14:06. > :14:10.the fact that we are the home of culture and literature from
:14:10. > :14:15.Shakespeare to Dickens, to Harry Potter. The fact that eight of the
:14:15. > :14:18.world's top ten sports are either invented or co-defied in Britain.
:14:18. > :14:24.The contribution we have made to democracy and freedom through the
:14:24. > :14:27.ages. So many of the big battles happened here and I know Danny
:14:27. > :14:37.Boyle will want to celebrate all of that and it's going to be a moment
:14:37. > :14:38.
:14:38. > :14:42.we can all feel in that quiet What a way to upon Danny Boyle's
:14:43. > :14:48.shoulders. Because this is the defining image? It is a big
:14:48. > :14:53.responsibility, but I think he will do it in a quirky, British way.
:14:53. > :14:58.There will be a lot of humour and a lot of fun. The world will see us
:14:58. > :15:02.as we are. But there will be those things we are proud of, the things
:15:02. > :15:07.Britain has done to shape the modern world, the big changes that
:15:07. > :15:13.have made the world what it is today. Sometimes we forget how much
:15:13. > :15:17.of a role Britain played. Thousands of people turning out along the
:15:17. > :15:22.riverside and the Thames watching the flame and right now. Britain,
:15:22. > :15:29.we are told is ready for these Games. Mitt Romney, the
:15:29. > :15:35.presidential hopeful yesterday expressed out. Are we ready?
:15:35. > :15:42.absolutely ready. A project of this Gail, you are going to have a few
:15:42. > :15:48.hitches, but we are over them now. He Jack Rudd, the President of the
:15:48. > :15:53.IOC said London is more ready than any other city he has seen before.
:15:53. > :15:58.We will prove Mitt Romney wrong. do have some hard acts to follow,
:15:58. > :16:02.Beijing being one of them? They have been many previous successful
:16:02. > :16:06.Olympics, but London is the only city in the world to host the
:16:06. > :16:11.Olympics three-times. We don't just have incredible sport, but
:16:11. > :16:16.incredible culture and we are one of the most cosmopolitan and
:16:16. > :16:21.exciting cities in the world. lot of people heard Big Ben ringing
:16:21. > :16:27.out this morning just after 8am to mark the official start of the
:16:27. > :16:31.Games. You were on board hate to miss Belfast and had a bit of an
:16:31. > :16:38.incident? I was ringing a bell in an excited way, and the bell
:16:38. > :16:45.collapsed in my hand and went flying off! I have always been a
:16:45. > :16:51.big fan of Hugh Donna Gill, and it was my own 2012 moment. It was a
:16:51. > :16:58.clanger, if you will excuse the pun. Let's go back to Jayne Hill who is
:16:58. > :17:03.by the river and watching proceedings.
:17:03. > :17:08.Even since we last spoke, I feel the crowds are swelling. We look
:17:08. > :17:13.down both sides of the Thames from our vantage point on board HMS
:17:13. > :17:18.Belfast, thousands and thousands of people really crowding every
:17:18. > :17:24.section of the water from so that you can see. This is the image from
:17:24. > :17:30.the lucky people who got here early enough to be on Tower Bridge itself.
:17:30. > :17:35.Still open to traffic, as you can see. But lining Tower Bridge right
:17:35. > :17:42.across its ban. What have you they have of the Gloriana, Gloriana and
:17:42. > :17:50.these final moments for the Olympic torch. The 17th day of the torch
:17:50. > :17:56.relay. Our guests are watching all of these proceedings. Just another
:17:56. > :18:01.word about Gloriana, a magnificent vessel, to the uninitiated such as
:18:01. > :18:07.myself. You think very beautiful, very majestic, but there is more to
:18:07. > :18:14.it than that? Unique, and British- built. Rediscovering the traditions
:18:14. > :18:22.of hundreds of years ago. That a vessel is actually based on an 18th
:18:22. > :18:30.century design. So going back to nobility when the royals were taken
:18:30. > :18:34.up and down the Thames. This was a highway. Here she is, through the
:18:34. > :18:40.efforts have of a few good people, we now eventually have a Royal
:18:40. > :18:45.barge once again, which will go on to do lots of charitable functions
:18:45. > :18:53.with the Royal Family. Something we should be intensely proud of. We
:18:53. > :18:57.have the national flags on board. Inside, on the panels inside we
:18:57. > :19:06.have 16 facts of the realms of the Commonwealth. A stunning example of
:19:06. > :19:10.Britain. I think we should all be taken aback about the speed with
:19:10. > :19:19.which these guys have got down here? Much earlier and much faster
:19:19. > :19:28.than expected. This is the crucial moments as we watch. That is 22-
:19:28. > :19:34.year-old Amber Charles. A beaming smile, as well she might. 22 years
:19:34. > :19:40.old from Newham in London, one of the Olympic boroughs. She is a
:19:40. > :19:46.basketball player. As we have seen, with a few torch-bearer has over
:19:46. > :19:51.the last 70 days, she has been involved with London's before the
:19:51. > :19:55.Olympics from the start. She has been involved from Singapore, that
:19:55. > :20:00.moment we remember at which it was revealed London had one false start
:20:00. > :20:05.she was one of the young ambassadors involved. In fact, she
:20:05. > :20:13.presented the IOC proposal, the British proposal, I should say, two
:20:13. > :20:21.members of the IOC back into 1004. Big cheers as she waves to the
:20:21. > :20:28.crowd. -- 2004. There is the Olympic torch lit from the cauldron.
:20:28. > :20:35.She is standing by the green ring, one of the five Olympic rings. At
:20:35. > :20:42.the base of city hall. Thousands and thousands of people watching,
:20:42. > :20:48.lining the route to on the South Bank of the Thames. No of course,
:20:48. > :20:52.over the last 70 days, and certainly the organisers of the
:20:52. > :20:56.torch relay have been keen to tell us one of the key elements of this
:20:56. > :21:03.relay was of course about getting everyone in Britain to have a
:21:03. > :21:09.chance to see the torch, but also they wanted to pick out inspiring
:21:09. > :21:17.individuals, what ever their age to be a torch-bearer. Amber Charles
:21:17. > :21:22.has been chosen in this instance as just one such. The youngest torch-
:21:22. > :21:28.bearer was just 12 years old. The oldest had turned 100 by the time
:21:28. > :21:36.she carried the flame. Amber Charles has been chosen because it
:21:36. > :21:41.is said she inspires young people to play sport and take up sport.
:21:41. > :21:46.Philip Barker, you have written about so many a Olympic Jenny's.
:21:46. > :21:53.Here we are, finally at the end of the 70 days, which started with the
:21:53. > :21:56.lighting of the flame in ancient Olympia in Greece. One assumes the
:21:56. > :22:02.organisers of this relay must be delighted with the last few weeks?
:22:02. > :22:10.They must be delighted. They are not revealing he will be the final
:22:10. > :22:13.court run there. It seemed such a long time ago she took a bit to the
:22:13. > :22:18.headquarters of the International Olympic Committee. And on that
:22:18. > :22:24.famous day in July 2005, when Shacklock announced London will
:22:24. > :22:31.have the Games, and it is worth remembering the Queen is the patron
:22:31. > :22:35.of the British Olympic Association's. -- he Jacques Rogge.
:22:35. > :22:39.She has connections through the Olympics with her family as well.
:22:40. > :22:46.We have seen the Royal seal of if approval because the flame went
:22:46. > :22:51.through Buckingham Palace yesterday. Windsor Castle a few weeks ago when
:22:51. > :22:56.the Queen had bad luck with the weather. But the Queen will become
:22:57. > :23:01.the first head of state to open two summer Olympic Games. She opened
:23:01. > :23:07.the 1976 Games in Montreal and did it in French. She will do it in her
:23:07. > :23:13.own country, her father did the last one. Jock Wisheart, a man who
:23:13. > :23:18.has spent his life to being on the water, how is it before you it is
:23:18. > :23:24.ending on the River Thames? It is a magic moment, it is such a
:23:24. > :23:30.privilege to be here on what is a bit of history happening. It is
:23:30. > :23:36.truly a unique occasion. To see them all standing there, saluting
:23:36. > :23:40.the flame. It will now go into city hall and sometime tonight we will
:23:41. > :23:45.find out - there has been a lot of things of course - if you ask me,
:23:45. > :23:50.you would have to kill me false start do you know more than you can
:23:50. > :23:55.let on? I do no more. But there is a lot of money riding on it from
:23:55. > :24:00.the bookies will stop to try to give you a sense, a little earlier
:24:00. > :24:04.this morning I was talking to the bridge master from Tower Bridge.
:24:04. > :24:09.Talking about his pride in having the Olympic rings hanging from
:24:09. > :24:13.Tower Bridge, as they have been for the last few months. He gave us a
:24:13. > :24:20.small clue, and he said Tower Bridge will be playing, as he put
:24:20. > :24:27.it, a small, but spectacular role in tonight's celebrations. The
:24:27. > :24:32.flame will be hidden away for a few hours this afternoon, and tonight,
:24:32. > :24:37.you are smiling, you know more than ideas. At some point tonight it
:24:37. > :24:42.will lead Tower Bridge and make its way East and will end up at the
:24:42. > :24:50.Olympic Park for the Opening Ceremony. So for the next few
:24:50. > :25:00.minutes, this is the last we will see of the flame until the key
:25:00. > :25:01.
:25:01. > :25:07.Opening Ceremony tonight. From our vantage point, I can see from
:25:07. > :25:12.another camera, and the Charles, not being let go by the crowds,
:25:12. > :25:17.still waving and cheering. People taking photographs. Thousands and
:25:17. > :25:25.thousands of people lining the banks of the Thames this lunchtime,
:25:26. > :25:31.to mark the very last stage of the Olympic torch relay. And a
:25:31. > :25:39.reflection of England's Maritime heritage, the fact we are an island
:25:39. > :25:49.nation, that is one of the reasons that drove these final stages. But
:25:49. > :25:49.
:25:49. > :25:53.is it being not about some of the sports to come? We do have lots of
:25:53. > :26:01.almost bankers, in terms of bringing home the gold medal.
:26:01. > :26:04.cannot use that word about medals. What delighted me today, is not
:26:04. > :26:11.only this historic journey recreating the past of going from
:26:11. > :26:16.hand and caught, the same passage royalty had taken years ago, but it
:26:16. > :26:24.passed by so many famous clubs who were the origins of some of the
:26:24. > :26:30.sports. Went back the Royal canoe Club. I am sure Tim Brabants and
:26:30. > :26:35.would have been there this morning. We went back the Thames Sailing
:26:35. > :26:44.Club -- went past the Thames Sailing Club. It was not only
:26:44. > :26:50.rowing, but all sailing sports false start this is as big as a
:26:50. > :26:56.pageant for the finish. Lovely to have you with us. Let's return to
:26:56. > :27:01.the Olympic Park. Sophie, for now on the River Thames, back to you.
:27:02. > :27:08.We will stay with those pictures, but the chief executive officer of
:27:08. > :27:12.the British Olympic Association, Andy Hunt joins me. The focus is on
:27:12. > :27:18.the Opening Ceremony, tomorrow it is all down to you? You are right,
:27:18. > :27:24.this is it, the end of the journey. But the rubber hits the road
:27:24. > :27:29.tomorrow, with the road cycle race. The athletes are really, really
:27:29. > :27:33.excited about tonight. But to be the home team at a Home Games in
:27:33. > :27:39.that Opening Ceremony, marching out last is something incredibly
:27:39. > :27:44.special. A lot of them will get on and compete. How are they? You have
:27:44. > :27:50.been at the athlete's village for two weeks, and a lot have been
:27:50. > :27:56.arriving over the past few days, what kind of spirit of a in?
:27:56. > :28:00.mood in the camp is fantastic. It is a united team. We had brought
:28:00. > :28:05.together 39 different sports to work together as one team. The
:28:05. > :28:09.feeling is fantastic. Everybody's plans have come together, they know
:28:09. > :28:15.what they need to do and now it is a case of getting out there and
:28:15. > :28:19.scoring goals, winning races, what ever they need to do. I believe we
:28:19. > :28:24.are ready to do that. The pressure is on their soldiers, not least
:28:24. > :28:30.because they did so well in Beijing? You are absolutely right,
:28:30. > :28:35.47 medals, 19 gold, 4th place in the medal table in Beijing was
:28:35. > :28:40.extraordinary. We shouldn't underestimate how difficult it will
:28:40. > :28:46.be to beat that. I do believe we will deliver more medals from all
:28:46. > :28:53.sports in over a century. I believe we will get more than 48 medals and
:28:53. > :29:00.we will do what ever we can to retain our place in the medal table.
:29:00. > :29:07.More gold medals amazing? I know every athlete in the team will give
:29:07. > :29:11.it their best shot. -- Beijing's. So many of them shooting for gold.
:29:11. > :29:15.If we focus on every day of competition, each athlete is
:29:15. > :29:19.focused on that race, that match they are participating in an the
:29:19. > :29:25.medal table will take care of itself. What about Phillips Idowu,
:29:26. > :29:33.do you think he will be taking part? Lots of confusion, but we
:29:33. > :29:38.really wants him to be back and fully fit and able to compete. He
:29:39. > :29:43.is a fantastic medal hope for us. He has a few more days to get fit.
:29:43. > :29:48.We are in discussions with his team to make sure we can provide any
:29:48. > :29:54.medical support we can. We have probably the top sports medical
:29:54. > :29:57.experts in the village with us. Have you spoken to him yourself?
:29:57. > :30:02.chief medical officer is in discussions with his team. You are
:30:02. > :30:06.confident he will be here? Injuries are difficult things, you never
:30:06. > :30:16.know how long. But everyone in the country would like to see him
:30:16. > :30:22.It's been a huge turnaround from Atlanta when we came home with one
:30:22. > :30:26.gold medal. 36th place in the table was a low point. I remember some
:30:27. > :30:30.historic comments by Matthew Pinsent about, we can't go on like
:30:30. > :30:34.this any more and we didn't. It changed. We won the Games. The
:30:34. > :30:38.investment that's gone into sport in this country is fantastic.
:30:38. > :30:41.Winning gold medals is not just about incredibly talented athletes,
:30:41. > :30:48.and we have lots of those, it's about the incredible coaches that
:30:48. > :30:52.we have and the whole system that supports them out there. I think
:30:52. > :30:58.sport's in a good place right now. Thank you very much for joining us.
:30:58. > :31:03.Let's go back to the River Thames now and Jane Hill on HMS Belfast.
:31:03. > :31:08.Thank you, Sophie. I am joined by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson,
:31:08. > :31:11.who has run over to HMS Belfast. Welcome. Hello. From City Hall,
:31:11. > :31:16.where you were just watching. watching the torch, it's about to
:31:17. > :31:20.come in to City Hall. Then we are going to have a brief ceremony of
:31:20. > :31:25.some kind and we are then going to send it down river again, to a
:31:25. > :31:28.place that used to be an industrial wasteland and it's now the Olympic
:31:28. > :31:31.Park, it's an incredible moment for lots of people who have been
:31:31. > :31:39.working hard on this for a long time. On the scale of nervousness
:31:39. > :31:43.to excitement, where are you right now? Well, the sort of - it's
:31:43. > :31:51.creaking towards the red zone now. There's no doubt. But it's an
:31:51. > :31:55.extraordinary thing to watch. The torch seems to have this benign
:31:55. > :31:58.contagion in people and it gets people. It moves them in ways that
:31:58. > :32:03.you simply don't expect. Some people remain immune, I mean, a
:32:03. > :32:07.famous broadcaster from Sky News, I won't embarrass by mentioning by
:32:07. > :32:13.name, tells me he is invulnerable to this. But most people I meet
:32:13. > :32:18.they get caught up in it and it's quite primitive. Just one week ago
:32:18. > :32:22.we were there over at the Tower of London, we saw the flame arrive,
:32:22. > :32:25.abseil down from the helicopter. I wonder what your thoughts have been
:32:25. > :32:29.as the Mayor of London, just in the last week, purely in in terms of
:32:29. > :32:33.the way people in the capital n the host city, have turned out as
:32:33. > :32:37.indeed they have today? Shall I give you the figures, we are
:32:37. > :32:41.talking so far until the crack of dawn this morning, 3.9 million
:32:41. > :32:47.people who had already come to watch the torch with their own eyes.
:32:47. > :32:52.So, probably looking at the crowds today, we must be up at 4.5 million.
:32:52. > :32:55.Five million at least by the time the thing is over. That is a
:32:55. > :33:02.substantial proportion, more than half the population of the city.
:33:02. > :33:08.London is seven, eight million. A big, big thing is happening. I
:33:08. > :33:13.think future socialologists will want to get what feelings are
:33:13. > :33:18.evoked by this flickering burning gas. Some cynics you mentioned
:33:18. > :33:22.might say but a lot of those are tourists, London is always
:33:22. > :33:28.attractive to tourists, you don't have to stage an Olympics at this
:33:28. > :33:32.time of year. Let's hope so. We obviously are hoping to benefit
:33:32. > :33:36.from tourist revenue, and also the objective of this exercise is not
:33:36. > :33:40.just to throw a great party and have a great Games, which is tral
:33:40. > :33:44.to it -- central to it, tpwou get investment in our city and it mean
:33:44. > :33:48.that is the world looks at London and forms a favourable impression,
:33:49. > :33:52.I am all for it. The next two weeks are crucial to forming that
:33:52. > :33:58.impression as well? If it all goes smoothly and we are discussing this
:33:58. > :34:01.after the closing ceremony then you will be a happy man? I am not going
:34:01. > :34:05.to claim there there won't be imperfections problems, of course
:34:05. > :34:09.there are going to be things that, you know, the media will rightly
:34:09. > :34:14.want to pick up on, but overall, I hope it will go very well indeed
:34:14. > :34:19.and we are going to use City Hall as a continuous kind of you - we
:34:19. > :34:22.have created lots of wonderful models of parts of London that are
:34:22. > :34:27.now very, very attractive for investment. We had a thing in
:34:27. > :34:32.Lancaster House yesterday with all those global titans, they need no
:34:32. > :34:36.persuading that London is the greatest city on earth and has an
:34:36. > :34:39.amazing future. We are located between the great Asian growing
:34:39. > :34:42.economies, and North America. We have the right time zone, the right
:34:42. > :34:46.language, a young, dynamic population. We are unlike any other
:34:46. > :34:56.city in Europe in that we have a growing population. We have several
:34:56. > :34:57.
:34:57. > :35:02.parts of the London economy that are showing amazing dine
:35:02. > :35:06.dineamicism. For someone listening to you, for the sake of argument in
:35:06. > :35:16.Aberdeen, Belfast, how does that benefit them? It does, and I don't
:35:16. > :35:17.
:35:17. > :35:22.want to sound manically, London- centric. The evidence is if you get
:35:22. > :35:30.London working and moving you thoep drive the rest of the UK. We export
:35:30. > :35:35.about �29 billion of -- �19 billion of tax a year to the rest of the
:35:35. > :35:38.country. I hope that people understand that
:35:38. > :35:41.argument. All right, as we watch the Gloriana
:35:41. > :35:47.move away, a cracking opening ceremony tonight, have you been
:35:47. > :35:50.privy to the dress rehearsals? haven't seen the rehearsals. I did
:35:50. > :35:54.see rushes ages ago. I can't tell you what's going to happen t would
:35:54. > :35:57.be wrong. You would be sacked! Exactly right, but it's going to be
:35:58. > :36:03.fantastic. Enjoy the opening ceremony, Mayor of London, thank
:36:03. > :36:09.you very much for joining us here on board HMS Belfast.
:36:09. > :36:19.Gloriana pulls away from the Olympic rings. Cheers from the many,
:36:19. > :36:25.
:36:25. > :36:30.We will stay with these pictures of this fabulous vessel, if we
:36:30. > :36:35.possibly can. Let's also talk Olympic matters,
:36:35. > :36:40.tickets, let's head to our sports correspondent Joe Wilson, because
:36:40. > :36:42.he is at Lord's. Terribly hard to hear myself think here on the
:36:42. > :36:46.Thames, perhaps easier where you are.
:36:46. > :36:50.It is a little quieter, because this is the first example of London
:36:50. > :36:55.Olympic sport. This is a preliminary round of the archery
:36:55. > :36:59.competition. You can maybe make out the world's best female Archers
:36:59. > :37:01.behind me. There have been problems outside. To be clear, a lot of
:37:02. > :37:06.archery authorities made it absolutely clear that today's
:37:06. > :37:09.action was not open to the public. But, it was widely advertised as
:37:09. > :37:13.unticketed. That's an interesting word to interpret. A lot of people,
:37:13. > :37:16.I would say hundreds, interpreted unticketed as meaning it was
:37:17. > :37:22.basically a free for all. That they could arrive at their leisure with
:37:22. > :37:25.families and come and watch. There were dozens of really quite
:37:25. > :37:30.disgruntled Archery fans outside this morning. For example, the
:37:30. > :37:40.Gibson family from Oregon in the United States and were left feeling
:37:40. > :37:44.
:37:44. > :37:48.Thank you very much for now, Joe Wilson at Lord's cricket ground. We
:37:48. > :37:54.will assess that and see how that goes over the course of the day.
:37:54. > :37:58.Back here on the River Thames it is the very closing elements of a 70-
:37:58. > :38:04.day torch relay. This, if you are just joining us,
:38:05. > :38:11.is the Gloriana. Her Majesty's row barge, it has just delivered the
:38:11. > :38:14.last torchbearer of the 70-day relay, a 22-year-old young
:38:14. > :38:19.basketball player, Amber Charles from Newham, east London. Now the
:38:20. > :38:24.flame is kept hidden effectively for a few hours, and it will be
:38:24. > :38:28.taken from Tower Bridge to the opening ceremony tonight for the
:38:29. > :38:36.last 70 days we have focused so much on the torchbearers, their
:38:36. > :38:42.stories, but also the torch itself. I am delighted that the designers
:38:42. > :38:48.of said torch are with us here on board HMS Belfast. Gentlemen,
:38:48. > :38:51.lovely to have you with us, Jay and Edward, thank you very much for
:38:51. > :38:54.being here. It was your studio that won the commission. The torch that
:38:54. > :38:59.you are holding that we have become familiar with and I should say
:38:59. > :39:03.congratulations, because it's the design museum's design of the year,
:39:03. > :39:07.I think I am right in saying. That's correct, yeah. When you were
:39:07. > :39:13.first asked or first won the commission, goodness, where were
:39:14. > :39:18.you on the scale of excitement versus anxiety? Amazing. They did a
:39:18. > :39:23.bit of an X Factor on us and lulled us - they made us believe we hadn't
:39:23. > :39:27.won it and revealed it to us. We incredibly excited and jumping in
:39:27. > :39:30.the air. You were on a flight at the time. I missed that X Factor
:39:30. > :39:36.moment. I was on a flight to New York. I had a text from Jay saying
:39:36. > :39:43.we have got it. Incredible. actual design process, the meetings
:39:43. > :39:48.with people who I assume within the authorities gave you a sense of
:39:48. > :39:51.weight, price, what they wanted to transmit. The project, when we were
:39:51. > :39:56.asked to do the project, we were given a massive briefing document
:39:56. > :39:59.which had everything from all the previous weights and sizes t had
:39:59. > :40:06.weather conditions that you would expect to see in England or Britain
:40:06. > :40:08.in the summer. We had rain, high wind speeds. It was a very
:40:08. > :40:11.comprehensive document. We had a good starting point. It was really
:40:11. > :40:14.important to us that the design somehow captured something of the
:40:14. > :40:20.history of the Games and something of the history of the Games in the
:40:20. > :40:24.UK and also referred directly to the relay itself and captured -
:40:24. > :40:28.somehow had a narrative behind it. That's what is informed the design
:40:28. > :40:32.of the torch. Remind us, some people may know the story, but
:40:32. > :40:37.there is relevance to the number of holes. On the body of the torch
:40:37. > :40:42.there are 8,000, and they relate to one for each runner, 8,000 runners
:40:42. > :40:47.and 8,000 miles. The other distinctive, I suppose, part of the
:40:47. > :40:53.design, is this triangular shape and that relates to the three times
:40:53. > :40:57.the Games has been in London. 1908, 1948 and 2012. The holes, as well
:40:57. > :41:01.as representing the torchbearers, it also makes the torch light and
:41:01. > :41:06.transparent so that you can see everything going on inside. If you
:41:06. > :41:09.hold it up to the light. One final thing is the colour. We decided on
:41:09. > :41:13.gold, because obviously gold is the colour of attainment for the games
:41:13. > :41:17.and we felt all the torch relay participants should have their
:41:17. > :41:21.moment to carry gold. We were surprised there wasn't a torch
:41:21. > :41:24.previously that was gold T seemed like the obvious colour to us.
:41:24. > :41:27.final thought, I have lost count of the number of people I have
:41:27. > :41:31.interviewed in the last 70 days who have had the honour of carrying one
:41:31. > :41:35.of these and they use that word, honour and pride. I wonder whether
:41:35. > :41:39.you have had feedback individually from torchbearers, what do people
:41:39. > :41:42.say to you? We had e-mails even today, people saying it's been a
:41:42. > :41:46.privilege, good job. Also e-mails from abroad. People who haven't
:41:46. > :41:52.seen it in the flesh, and seen it on television, said fantastic
:41:52. > :41:56.design, we love it. We were slightly lucky that we designed
:41:56. > :41:59.something that's been well received. We weren't given that long, we gave
:41:59. > :42:05.us ten days originally. That's nothing! A bit of luck there, I
:42:05. > :42:10.think. Edward and Jay, good to have you with us, thank you very much.
:42:10. > :42:13.The designers of the Olympic torch. Let's head to the Olympic Park.
:42:13. > :42:19.Let's cross to my colleague Jon Sopel.
:42:19. > :42:23.Jane, thank you very much. It feels like the atmosphere has changed in
:42:23. > :42:27.the Olympic Park. It's twitchy, a little bit nervy. We have had
:42:27. > :42:32.security checking our passes, in the broadcast centre lots of people
:42:32. > :42:37.scurrying around. Lots of testing, testing, one, two going on behind
:42:37. > :42:42.us in the stadium which will open the doors at 5.00pm so the public
:42:42. > :42:46.can stream in, 80,000 of them, to watch the opening ceremony. What an
:42:46. > :42:53.evening it promises to be. What a lot of responsibility on the
:42:53. > :42:56.shoulders of those behind it, well, we got a little taste last night of
:42:56. > :43:00.what might be in it. It's worth having a look at those pictures
:43:01. > :43:06.again. We have seen, for example, the resurrection of the pop band
:43:06. > :43:08.Mud, from the 1970s. Here is a little bit where they're
:43:08. > :43:12.celebrating the National Health Service and it's going to be a
:43:12. > :43:16.celebration of this island's story, if you like. The history of Britain
:43:16. > :43:20.but with contemporary music, classical music, with dance, and
:43:20. > :43:23.all the rest. It's not going to be Beijing four years ago. It's going
:43:23. > :43:27.to be a very British take. And those wonderful pictures of
:43:28. > :43:31.cyclists going around with wings on their shoulders. I have spoken to
:43:31. > :43:36.people who have seen the rehearsals and they've all said it's great,
:43:36. > :43:38.but it doesn't quite make sense. Why? Because there is still lots of
:43:38. > :43:43.unknowns. Still all sorts of rumours about the surprises that
:43:43. > :43:47.might yet be to come. Well, Danny Boyle when he spoke a short time
:43:47. > :43:49.ago wasn't revealing what the surprises might be but he was
:43:49. > :43:54.looking forward to this evening's event.
:43:54. > :43:58.It's been a long road and we are almost there. I mean, what you
:43:58. > :44:01.think about really is you think about the volunteers really,
:44:01. > :44:07.because the thing about directors is that they just sit at the back
:44:07. > :44:11.in the end, you know. This is a live performance. It's the actors
:44:11. > :44:15.and in our case they're volunteers, and have to get up there and do it.
:44:15. > :44:20.Any kind of nervousness I feel for them, it's for them really. Because
:44:20. > :44:23.my nerves are not important. The excitement I feel about it is
:44:23. > :44:29.obviously the excitement I think they feel. Yeah, looking forward to
:44:29. > :44:34.it really. Whatever comes our way comes our way, because it's live
:44:34. > :44:39.and it's a one time only. I will never do one again. It is
:44:39. > :44:45.extraordinary to be involved in one. I saw Danny Boyle earlier this week
:44:45. > :44:48.with Steven Daldry, they were coming to the rehearsals, and they
:44:49. > :44:53.looked the most relaxed men you could think of. They are projecting,
:44:53. > :44:56.not just to the audience, but around the world, to this sort of
:44:56. > :45:02.billion-plus audience that will be watching, what Britain is. How
:45:02. > :45:05.Britain sees itself, how Britain would like to be seen. We are
:45:05. > :45:13.hearing a fantastic selection of music from the stadium now. We have
:45:13. > :45:19.had everything from Elgar and the variations which you associate with
:45:19. > :45:27.Remembrance Sunday, to The Who, and everything in between. So, it
:45:27. > :45:30.promises to be a spect spectacle tonight. As I have been saying,
:45:30. > :45:34.there are surprises, things we do not know about what's going to
:45:34. > :45:38.happen this evening, who might be appearing and where. I think that
:45:38. > :45:42.will add to the sense of excitement. Of course, the other big thing we
:45:42. > :45:45.don't know about, even though you have been struggling to find out
:45:45. > :45:49.determinedly this morning, Jane, who is going to be lighting the
:45:49. > :45:52.cauldron? We have no idea. But here in the Olympic Park everyone is
:45:52. > :45:56.scurrying around. The atmosphere has changed totally. People just
:45:56. > :46:06.want to get on with it and there is that anxious feeling that something
:46:06. > :46:09.
:46:09. > :46:13.We still do not know. We are just hearing the Prime Minister has
:46:13. > :46:17.announced that there will be 17 tickets to the Opening Ceremony
:46:17. > :46:21.tonight which will be donated to people who have been selected,
:46:21. > :46:26.being described as people who have contributed particularly to their
:46:26. > :46:31.community. Again it takes us back to everything we have heard, all of
:46:31. > :46:38.the stories we have heard about torchbearers. 17 tickets to be
:46:38. > :46:45.given away. That leaves a few spare, we were talking yesterday there are
:46:45. > :46:50.tickets available at the top two prices. Some tickets will be given
:46:50. > :46:55.away. As they left, the lovely designers of the Olympic torch were
:46:55. > :46:59.just telling me they have just been told they will be going to
:46:59. > :47:05.tonight's Opening Ceremony. I would imagine they would be going anyway,
:47:05. > :47:09.but apparently not. But they have just found out they are. A few
:47:09. > :47:13.formalities to go through this afternoon before we go to the
:47:13. > :47:18.Opening Ceremony. There will be a reception at Buckingham Palace for
:47:18. > :47:24.heads of states and governments and probably a few others besides.
:47:24. > :47:29.Let's cross to Philippa Thomas with more on that.
:47:29. > :47:35.We are expecting 95 heads of state, or at least heads of delegation,
:47:35. > :47:43.monarchs, presidents and prime ministers. Migrate deal of planning
:47:43. > :47:49.goes into these things, as you would expect. -- a great deal. We
:47:49. > :47:52.were both he yesterday for part of the torch relay where the torch was
:47:53. > :48:00.run in behind the railings of Buckingham Palace and we saw Kate,
:48:00. > :48:04.William and Harry as GB -- Team GB ambassadors welcomes the torch to
:48:04. > :48:11.Buckingham Palace. Members of the Royal family will be at the Opening
:48:11. > :48:13.Ceremony. Let's get a bit more on the roles the royals are playing,
:48:13. > :48:23.and the Royal Family at Buckingham Palace is always part of the
:48:23. > :48:30.package. I'll Royal Correspondent is with me now. They have been
:48:30. > :48:35.important to Britain hosting Games? She is the most senior State in the
:48:35. > :48:39.world. -- head of state in the world. Everyone is keen to meet
:48:39. > :48:42.Queen Elizabeth in this diamond jubilee year. The fact they can
:48:43. > :48:52.come and have his reception at Buckingham Palace and make the key
:48:53. > :49:00.
:49:00. > :49:05.-- Queen will be memorable. 95 people, with their partners. The
:49:05. > :49:11.Prime Minister of France. But it will be a bitter sweet occasion on
:49:11. > :49:14.him, because this could have happened in Paris. The President of
:49:14. > :49:19.France will be coming later during the Games. The Prime Minister of
:49:19. > :49:23.Russia, the President will be coming later. He is particularly
:49:23. > :49:29.interested in the weight lifting. There will be a speech by the Queen,
:49:29. > :49:36.a speech by Jacques Rogge, of course. Most of them will be taken
:49:36. > :49:41.by coach to the Olympic Park. it is interesting, you would expect
:49:41. > :49:46.there would be a motorcade, with bodyguards, but you cannot have all
:49:46. > :49:52.of those limousines crossing London on this night? It is not unusual
:49:52. > :49:58.for them to go on a coach. The regular thing at these Olympic
:49:58. > :50:02.occasions. Very often there were a family travelled by coach, we did
:50:02. > :50:07.have coach loads of them travelling for the Royal Family. It is not
:50:07. > :50:12.exceptional. He would love to over here some of those conversations?
:50:12. > :50:18.don't think there is a seating plan, so it is whoever you find yourself
:50:18. > :50:24.next to. All sorts of diplomatic possibilities and diplomatic
:50:24. > :50:27.conversations taking place. That is one of the things of the Games, you
:50:27. > :50:32.have the secretary general of the United Nations, big world players
:50:32. > :50:35.coming together, almost without exception. All sorts of
:50:35. > :50:41.conversations can be taking place within the context of a relaxed
:50:41. > :50:45.atmosphere such as this. Who knows, perhaps a bit of serious business
:50:45. > :50:50.being done as well as the entertainment. Be to is about sport
:50:50. > :50:55.and politics, but business behind the scenes. And at a Lancaster
:50:55. > :51:00.House, there will be a series of summits and convinces to welcome
:51:00. > :51:05.Investment? Everyone would yards away, the United Kingdom taking
:51:05. > :51:10.advantage of the fact there are so many diplomatic and business
:51:10. > :51:15.players, chief executive, chairman of major corporations here. And the
:51:15. > :51:19.Prime Minister making a very big effort to take advantage of the
:51:20. > :51:26.situation to encourage inward investment into the United Kingdom.
:51:26. > :51:29.A very important by-products Games are here in London. As we look at
:51:29. > :51:34.the part being played, especially by the younger roles, the Duke and
:51:34. > :51:39.Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry, they were very prominent yesterday
:51:39. > :51:44.as the torch came in and they will be under the spotlight? It comes
:51:44. > :51:49.back to what you said earlier, the world family are unimportant
:51:49. > :51:53.element within the UK propositions. Not just the Queen herself, but the
:51:53. > :51:57.younger members, the more glamourous members of the Royal
:51:57. > :52:02.Family. We will wait for the limousines to come in and the
:52:02. > :52:08.coaches to go out. That's all for now at Buckingham Palace.
:52:08. > :52:12.Philippa Thomas. Let's reflect for a moment on the other way in which
:52:12. > :52:18.the day began, not just on the water, but it with a national bell
:52:18. > :52:24.ringing. 12 minutes past eight this morning, the bell ringing began,
:52:24. > :52:33.part of an idea from an artist to celebrate the day of the Opening
:52:33. > :52:40.Ceremony. Let's take a look at what that meant.
:52:40. > :52:44.On the Thames, a special Olympic day dawned.
:52:44. > :52:54.And at 8:12am, Big Ben chimed and began and Nationwide cacophony of
:52:54. > :52:55.
:52:55. > :53:05.Belz. -- Belz. From Wales, to Edinburgh. East
:53:05. > :53:06.
:53:06. > :53:10.Yorkshire. Ring are Mary Bell's. Weymouth in Dorset. The instruction
:53:10. > :53:18.was to ring all the bells as quickly and loudly as possible for
:53:18. > :53:22.three minutes. It was very tiring because they are quite heavy.
:53:22. > :53:30.little noisy overture to the Games. The Olympic minister was there to
:53:30. > :53:40.tell us. When things don't go according to plan, London will cope.
:53:40. > :53:42.
:53:42. > :53:47.My goodness me! No one was hurt. Everyone was smiling about it.
:53:47. > :53:51.Closing thoughts from the River Thames because we have witnessed a
:53:51. > :53:56.remarkable pageants down the river, ending here at Tower Bridge just in
:53:56. > :54:01.the last half-an-hour. Let's get a final thought with Jock Wisheart,
:54:01. > :54:09.who has been with us all morning. A man who has devoted his life to the
:54:09. > :54:17.water, and this river. What a way to end this relay? I am gobsmacked.
:54:17. > :54:22.Watching the Gloriana paddle off. But an idea of Lord Sterling to
:54:22. > :54:28.have that here. Everything is about Britain. We are Maritime nations
:54:28. > :54:32.will stop in London we have this amazing link with the river. We
:54:32. > :54:38.brought this altogether in this final moments, culminating in the
:54:38. > :54:43.torch being given over with this amazing spectacle. And the crowd,
:54:43. > :54:49.they must rivalled the pageant. was amazing. And also, this
:54:49. > :54:55.opportunity for some of our past and very deserving Olympic
:54:55. > :55:01.medalists to have their little moment. They will say, I was here.
:55:01. > :55:05.Does it sound special? Just remarkable. And there are still
:55:06. > :55:10.thousands of people lining the banks of the Thames. The Gloriana
:55:10. > :55:15.has gone. They will be staying here because they will be expecting
:55:15. > :55:20.something else to happen. We know Tower Bridge will be playing a role
:55:20. > :55:27.in tonight ceremony. There is a little secret to be unveiled.
:55:27. > :55:32.won't say any more! You have been very discreet. There is a key,
:55:32. > :55:38.final element. We have watched the torch for 70 days are from Lands
:55:38. > :55:43.End, to Tower Bridge this lunchtime. All will be revealed in a few hours.
:55:43. > :55:47.We know Tower Bridge will be playing a role in some way for
:55:47. > :55:51.start the Olympic torch is hidden away for the next few hours. And
:55:51. > :55:56.according to the bridge master of Tower Bridge, he said the bridge
:55:56. > :56:01.will be playing a small but spectacular and significant role in
:56:01. > :56:07.tonight's ceremony. Spectacular was the word he used. It will make its
:56:07. > :56:14.way the East to the Olympic Park in Stretford for Danny Boyle's Opening
:56:14. > :56:24.Ceremony, which begins and we can all watch from 9pm this evening on
:56:24. > :56:30.BBC One. What a 70 day relay it has been. Thousands of people lining
:56:30. > :56:40.the banks of the Thames. Organisers estimating 12 million people at
:56:40. > :56:43.
:56:44. > :56:52.least have seen the Olympic flame on it 70 day journey. Let us remind
:56:52. > :57:02.you of the final few scenes of this Olympic journey. We can reflect on
:57:02. > :57:41.
:57:41. > :57:50.this journey. From the River Thames, It is not a bag gold medals, racing