London set for the show to start

Volunteers get in the Olympic mood as they put in the last efforts into preparation at the Olympic Stadium in London on Tuesday, three days before the start of the sporting extravaganza.Photo: AFP

There are still two days to go until the Danny Boyle-directed opening ceremony heralds the true start of London 2012, but it seems optimism about Great Britain's sporting ambitions have finally lifted the characteristic British gloom that had surrounded the Olympics over the last twelve months.
There are still hiccoughs, the chief being the activation of the Olympic Route Network, a web of dedicated lanes for what the Olympics call, Games Family Members. It will make going to and from competition venues for participants, officials and media that much smoother but will put an increased amount of pressure on London's narrow road network. With the Olympic lanes set to go fully operational today, there is fear of tailbacks and traffic putting a dampener on the mood.
But to London's credit, the city looks prepared and there is a slight buzz in the air. Olympic signage, be it eye-cringing sponsor billboard or the bright pink and purple dressage of the numerous volunteers, adorns the city streets and tube networks. The newspapers are providing blanket coverage and BBC beams seemingly 24 hours worth of Olympic footage, from torch relays to athlete preparations.
More importantly, the sun is out, in all its brilliance and glory and that makes even the airport style security screenings at the Olympic Park tolerable. The Park itself is efficient, the volunteers are helpful and everyone knows and executes their role to almost clockwork perfection. All the preparation seems to have paid off for the organising committee.
Finally, the recent upsurge in British sporting fortunes, what with Bradley Wiggins's superlative Tour de France victory has lifted the mood quotient so that Britain expect to bag their first goal via the equally brilliant cyclist Mark Cavendish in the Men's Road Race event on the 28th of July.
Before that though, it is left to football to raise the curtain on London's third Olympics, a feat no city, not even Athens, has achieved in the modern era. Hope Powell's female footballers will descend in Cardiff's iconic Millennium Stadium today at 4pm local time to take on New Zealand and fire the starting gun on a party that has been seven years in coming.
On July 6, 2005, Lord Sebastian Coe and then Mayor Ken Livingstone beat out bids by Paris, Moscow, Madrid and New York to bring the Olympics to London amidst a cacophony of cheers. A day later the infamous 7/7 bombings left the public sentiment crumbling. Over the last two years, the worldwide recession has bought the eye-watering Olympic costs under the spotlight and flak. So for London, the story has been one as much of tears as it has been of joy.
But come today, when the women walk out onto the pitch in Cardiff, the tears and the slights will be forgotten and forgiven. With the backing of an entire nation, the Games are set to begin.