This morning I awoke and everything seemed normal, just like any other morning, but not quite. This will be one of the biggest days in the 21st century for Britain, and one can feel the anticipation already, and the excitement of the weeks to come. This morning culminates seven years of hope, ambition and hard preparation, and some of the statistics involved are awesome: the Guardian provides a lovely graphical animation that demonstrates them simply.

But a few more statistics that illustrate this enormous international undertaking are listed here:

30 sports are represented

At least 17,000 athletes will be present

More than 20,000 journalists will cover the event

205 countries will be playing their part

Number of tickets expected to be sold - around 10 million

Already at 08.12 am, bells were ringing all over England to herald this special and unforgettable day. In fact, the bell Sports Minister Jeremy Hunt was ringing while being interviewed actually flew off its handly and nearly hit someone! So drama has already begun. Mindful of the fact that only a tiny number of people can witness the Ceremony in the Olympic Stadium, big screens have been provided all over the country to beam the exciting event across the nation. Even my hometown in Berksdire is providing a screen so that we can all share in this amazing moment. I have been privileged to see the Ceremony already, so I will be celebrating the moment at my usual disco boogeying the night away in gay abandon. But we can feel the excitement of the event gradually taking us over, no matter how reluctant we might have been up to now.

We do not yet know the biggest news: who is going to complete the Torch relay by lighting the Flame at the Olympic Stadium. It is being kept a closely guarded secret. The press were speculating that it could be either of two great Olympians, Daley Thompson or Sir Steve Redgrave. But an unwelcome and unseemly argument appeared to have broken out between the two men as to who deserves the honour more, and my guess is that neither of them will be chosen.

While you are impatiently waiting for Danny Boyle's Opening Ceremony later tonight, here are 10 Olympic Gems to whet the appetite. Enjoy!

1. Olympic 2012 in Numbers (The Guardian) 

2. How to survive the Olympic Park (BBC)

3. 10 Points about the Opening Ceremony (BBC) 

4.  SNEAK PREVIEW of the Opening Ceremony (BBC) 

5. See the PICTURE OF THE DAY!

6. LISTEN to the official 2012 Olympic Song trailer - Survival - by Muse, and see some nostalgic and iconic images at the same time

7. Keep up to date throughout today with the continuous LIVE commentary of the unfolding events provided by the excellent BBC 

8. The 10 Best Olympic Movies (Sportslist.com) 

9. Bask in the glory of the Summer Olympic Medals and the countries that have enjoyed them (NationMaster.com). How many medals have your country won?

10. FINALLY….Get into the Olympic Games spirit by listening to this amazing iconic theme song to the 1982 movie Chariots of Fire, that epitomises these Games!  

Any other information can be obtained from the Olympic Games website.

I hope this has been of value! :o) 

UPDATE: For my report on the actual Opening Ceremony!