London, Great Britain - July 29 - 10, 2012

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London Olympics opens with a bang!

July 28, 2012

It's official the Games have begun - hockey kicks off tomorrow!

Following a mad-cap dash through Great Britain’s proud history at the Danny Boyle-inspired opening ceremony spectacular in the Olympic Park, the stage was exquisitely set on Friday night for the 30th Games.

A packed house took in the delights of a potted history of the host city, from its agrarian roots through the industrial revolution and the modern era, paying tribute to Brit-pop, the NHS and Tim Berners-Lee – the founder of the internet and the digital revolution.

Three hockey legends led their teams out as part of the athlete’s parade with Luciana Aymar the first to carry her nation’s flag at the head of the Argentina contingent.

Natascha Keller, for Germany, and Pakistan goal-machine Sohail Abbas were the next in line, before the Games were declared officially open by Her Majesty the Queen and the lighting of the flame.

Hockey eyes now turn just a couple of hundred metres down the Olympic walkway to the Riverbank Arena where Antipodean rivals New Zealand and Australia will raise the curtain on the women’s competition on Sunday at 8.30am in the first of six match-ups, starting the festival with a bang.

STEPHEN FINDLATER

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