The 2012 London Olympics are officially underway, as the opening ceremony commenced Friday night.
Great Britain put on quite a spectacle. Fireworks, Mary Poppins, Voldemort, and more entertained the crowd and the athletes alike.
There was a lot of music throughout the ceremony, capped off with a performance from Sir Paul McCartney leading the entire stadium in a sing-along of “Hey Jude”.
London had 204 countries marching into the stadium displaying bright boisterous colors to reflect the culture and flags of each country.
With 36 total events, the competition will take place from July 27 to August 12.
Americans will get to watch the anticipated battle between Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps while they swim for multiple gold medals; Lochte has already taken home one gold medal in the 400 meter I.M. relay while Phelps took fourth.
It was the first time Phelps has not medaled in an event since he was 15 at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
Questions are now being asked whether Phelps has what it takes to win any gold medals after Lochte dominated the first matchup between the two.
Also dominating in their own sport of Women’s Beach Volleyball are Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh. Walsh and May-Treanor are undefeated in Olympic competition heading into the semi-finals. They look to continue their dominance and capture a third gold medal.
Men’s Beach Volleyball duo Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser will try to defend the gold medal they brought home in 2008 in Beijing.
Of course, the Men’s basketball team is heavily favored to bring home the gold. The American team is comprised of NBA players.
Reigning NBA champion and MVP LeBron James will lead the team along with Kobe Bryant. Minnesota Timberwolves star Kevin Love is also a member of the team.
Team USA basketball has looked good thus far in the exhibition and the first Olympic game. Team USA beat France 98-71 in their first game of the Olympics Saturday.
The number one ranked U.S. women’s soccer team will look to knock off the rest of the competition to bring home another gold medal for the United States.
Abby Wambach and Megan Rapinoe will lead the team into competition. Team USA defeated Colombia 3-0 on Saturday to be guaranteed a spot in the quarterfinals.
The women’s soccer team has won three out of the last four gold medals at the Olympic games.
All these athletes and over 500 other Americans will be looking to excel in their own sport. Some are just happy to be there, but for others, anything other than a gold medal is a complete failure.
Nonetheless, the Olympics have begun.
