Best Of British

Duran Duran, Paolo Nutini, Snow Patrol and Stereophonics were chosen to represent the four countries of Great Britain for a special concert celebrating the opening of the Olympic Games.

The British Telecom-sponsored event is at London’s Hyde Park July 27, with the BBC providing live footage from the opening ceremony at the new Olympic Park.

The Hyde Park show marks the opening of BT London Live, a partnership between Mayor Boris Johnson, The Royal Parks and The London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which will run throughout the Games.

The opening ceremony concert and the closing concert Aug. 12 will be ticketed but other days will be free admission.
Throughout the Olympics, the public will be able to visit landmark locations such as Victoria Park and Trafalgar Square, catch up on the sport on big screens and enjoy a wide range of free entertainment.

Live Nation chief ops officer John Probyn says organising the London entertainment surrounding the Olympics is “the biggest thing I will ever do in my lifetime.”

Although Live Nation, which was awarded the contract in February 2011, has produced some of the biggest multi-artist events in London including Live 8, Concert for Diana, Wireless Festival and Hard Rock Calling, he said organising the Olympic entertainment “reaches entirely new levels.”

The opening ceremony for the 2012 Olympic Games will include the parade of athletes, the raising of the Olympic flag and then finally the lighting of the cauldron with the Olympic flame.

There will also be the playing of the Olympic anthem “First Steps,” a six-minute composition by Elbow.

BBC radio began trailing the track April 30. It features the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and an Olympic Choir put together for the piece.