Maypoles, Mosh Pits In Olympics Opening Ceremony

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MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

More details have emerged about the opening ceremony of the London Summer Olympics, including a lovely model of the Olympic Stadium that looks like a really big bowl of grass.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Or a meadow in the middle of a roundabout. There will be cows.

BLOCK: There will be sheep.

CORNISH: There will be sheepdogs, to herd the sheep.

BLOCK: There will be hedges and maypoles.

CORNISH: And people playing cricket. But despite similarities to the bucolic set of a certain iconic children's TV program, no Teletubbies.

BLOCK: We think. There will be a troop of nurses from the National Health Service.

CORNISH: We're not sure why. Oh, and there will be mosh pits.

BLOCK: The opening ceremony is called "Isles of Wonder," and it's the vision of Oscar-winning filmmaker Danny Boyle. He brought us the movies "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Trainspotting." Boyle gave a preview today while standing over a model of the Olympic Stadium. "Isles of Wonder" will reflect the U.K.'s wit - as well as its weather.

DANNY BOYLE: A couple of other things to tell you about the clouds, which will be real clouds.

CORNISH: Yes. Not cotton-wool clouds suspended on little wires - that's what hung over the stadium model - but real clouds hanging over the real stadium. Boyle gave no explanation on how he plans to control the weather.

BOYLE: Anyway, one of these clouds will provide rain.

BLOCK: Because organizers do not want to take the chance that it doesn't rain on a London-based, international sporting event.

CORNISH: Must have rain. Must have authenticity. The cost for all of this is expected to be about $42 million. You can watch it yourself - dry, at home - July 27th.

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