Olympic organisers trying to keep London's opening ceremony secret

Olympic organisers trying to keep London's opening ceremony secret have appealed to rehearsal spectators and performers not to leak details of the event that insiders describe as spectacular with a touch of quirky British humour.

At a rehearsal on Monday night, Oscar-winning film-maker Danny Boyle asked some 30,000 spectators not to post details or photos on social networks of his 27-million-pound ($42-million) ceremony - and most honoured his plea, with few "secrets" buzzing online on Tuesday.

Boyle has voiced frustration at details leaking before Friday's show, particularly after he unveiled part of the set last month to sate growing curiosity.

But the explosion of social media has made secrets almost impossible to keep at this Olympics.

In a move to counteract leaks, organisers emblazoned a Twitter hashtag #savethesurprise on screens inside the Olympic Stadium on Monday, urging people to use that tag to build a buzz before Friday, and participants hoped this would work.

"The ceremony is very emotional, very British, with quirky humour. And it will have surprises, even for the critics," said Dikaia Chatziefstathiou, who researches the Olympic movement at Canterbury University and is dancing in the opening ceremony.

Chatziefstathiou said the 10,000 volunteer performers in the three-hour ceremony signed contracts stopping them from giving away details or posting photos onto social network sites, but she was allowed to say the show spanned 1896 to the present.

Organisers will be hoping that a spectacular opening will end complaints from Britons about security bungles, transport woes and the 9.3-billion-pound ($14.4-billion) cost of the Games, being held as Britain faces recession and unemployment of 8.1 percent.

The ceremony poses a challenge to organisers to strike a balance between global and national appeal.

Beijing in 2008 was determined to use an opening ceremony watched by about one billion people to forge a new identity as a modern, global powerhouse on the world stage and produced a lavish, meticulously choreographed show.

Athens in 2004 used its event and hosting of the Games to try to shed its reputation as a parochial and unruly corner of the European Union, while Sydney in 2000 showcased its appeal as a sophisticated tourist destination, and not just the outback.

SARCASM, BONKERS

With another 60,000 people to attend a dress rehearsal on Wednesday, organisers were finding it difficult to keep a lid on their plans.

Hundreds of people took to Twitter and Facebook after Monday's rehearsal to rave about the event, describing it as "out of this world", "bonkers", with some sarcastic silliness and a "mind-blowing finale".

Some details are already known about the ceremony that will be watched by about a billion people globally, although at Monday's rehearsal key moments were missing.

"We can't show you everything," Boyle said in a brief introduction to the stunt-filled show. "If you would not tweet and you would not post, especially pictures, we would really, really appreciate it."

The ceremony, titled "Isles of Wonder" and inspired by William Shakespeare's play "The Tempest", is due to open at 2000 GMT with the ringing of the largest harmonically tuned bell in the world. Queen Elizabeth will open the Games in front of more than 100 world leaders and U.S. first lady Michelle Obama.

Boyle, who made the gritty film "Trainspotter", revealed last month that he will turn the stadium into a British rural idyll complete with live sheep, horses, cows, goats, chickens, 9 geese and three sheep dogs -- much to the disapproval of some animal rights groups.

The pastoral scene will also include a game of village cricket and music festival style "mosh pits" filled with standing members of the public at either end of the stadium.

What the media has since leaked includes elements of the next "act" of the show, recreating the "dark Satanic mills" of William Blake, whose poem Jerusalem includes this reference to the Industrial Revolution and has become an anthem to England.

Insiders said the industrial revolution was the second of three chapters in the show that then moved on to present day.

This final section includes a tribute to the National Health Service and nurses, with reports that Harry Potter villain Voldemort and the magical nanny, Mary Poppins, would appear.

After Boyle's show, athletes from the 204 competing nations will walk around the meadow, with bookmaker Coral running odds of 100-1 that a streaker would appear during the evening.

The identity of the torchbearer who lights the cauldron is the most closely guarded secret and, so far, has not leaked. Bookmakers have the clear favourite as Steve Redgrave, Britain's most successful Olympian who won five gold medals.

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Twitch or flinch no longer a false start

The danger of one inadvertent twitch ruining the greatest day of a sprinter's life has been removed after athletics' governing body softened the rules on false starts ahead of the London Olympics.

The little-publicised clarification by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) permits athletes to move in the starting blocks without being disqualified so long as their hands do not leave the ground or their feet the blocks.

Previously, such twitching or flinching could have resulted in disqualification at the discretion of the starter.

"The bottom line is, outside of an athlete removing his hands off the track or his feet leaving the blocks, nothing else is a false start," David Katz, one of 17 members on the rule-making IAAF technical committee, told Reuters by telephone.

The need for improved quality and consistency by starters worldwide had prompted the clarification, said Paul Hardy, IAAF competitions director.

Usain Bolt's false start at last year's world championships in Daegu, while a clear violation, only added to the discussion.

"This allows a safety valve," said international starter Tom McTaggart, who has been sending off athletes for more than 40 years.

"It takes a little pressure off the starter in general, the recall crew and the athletes. They (the athletes) know 'I got a second chance here'."

Spectators and starters might need to adjust, McTaggart told Reuters.

"Fans may say: 'that guy moved, so it's a false start'," the 1996 Olympics starter said. "It will be a little bit of a learning curve."

IMPROPER CONDUCT

Starters might wind up disqualifying athletes less often, he noted.

"Things that they would just whack somebody for a false start before, they are going to think about it," McTaggart said.

The preferred method now is to call up athletes and begin the process again if movement is observed.

"They (the IAAF) are interested in preventive officiating because the penalty is severe," McTaggart said of the IAAF rule that disqualifies an athlete for his first false start.

With the clarification, movement, if it constitutes a major disturbance or delay, can be considered improper conduct instead of a false start.

The penalty would be a yellow card, or warning. A second would result in disqualification.

"I believe this gives them (IAAF) the wiggle room they were looking for without saying we were wrong (on the one-and-done false start rule)," said Bob Podkaminer, secretary of USA Track & Field's rules committee and an international technical official.

U.S. relays coach Jon Drummond, who was involved in one of the most publicised false starts of all time in 2003, said it was time something was done.

"Athletes are getting penalised and that is the starter's fault," the sprinter-turned-coach said.

Drummond drew major attention at the 2003 Paris world championships when he lay on the track for more than 15 minutes in protest after being disqualified for a false start he said he did not commit.

Many today believe Drummond was correct, that he might have been pushing on the blocks early but had settled down before the gun was fired.

"I think it is a fair solution," Drummond said of the clarification, though he would prefer that the false start rule reverted to the previous one, when the first infraction was charged against the field and the second eliminated the offending athlete.

Sprinter Tyson Gay said he liked the clarification.

"I think it will save some people," the world's second fastest man told Reuters.

"Because if a person flinches and they don't call it a false start, it can allow another person to flinch and they call it on that person. They (the starting crew) didn't see the first person."

Katz has a solution for that - employ video in the starting process that would be immediately available to starters.

After all, he said, with television beaming races globally, "the whole world gets to see who is moving except the starters."

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Venus and Serena Williams and Wimbledon look like gold 2012

Venus and Serena Williams and Wimbledon look like gold 2012

Venus and Serena Williams have opted for the comfort of a Wimbledon hotel over the athletes' village and might miss the opening ceremony but the tennis siblings were still able to soak up some of the London Olympic experience on Tuesday.

Soon after arriving in the English capital, the Williams sisters and their United States team mates got a taste of Olympic traffic gridlock, delaying their pre-Games news conference.

Everyone then had a good chuckle at the expense of doubles partners and brothers Bob and Mike Bryan, who were denied entry into the Olympic media centre for not having validated credentials.

Serena, still basking in the glow of her fifth Wimbledon singles title, quickly made it clear, however, that she was not back in London for a few laughs, but for medals.

If the 14-time grand slam winner can claim the women's gold she would become the only player to win all four slams, plus singles and doubles gold.

"It's exciting to be back so soon, usually we have to wait 12 months to walk back on to centre court," Serena, who will set up camp with her sister and the rest of the U.S. tennis team at a hotel near Wimbledon, told the news conference.

"For me, I'm going to be really excited to have such a quick turn-around and get back on the grass where I love to play."

Since rejoining the Summer Games programme in 1988 after a 64-year absence, tennis and the Olympics have not always been a comfortable fit, with many players putting a grand slam victory ahead of a gold medal.

Wimbledon and the Olympics, two ancient sporting institutions, will come together, however, at the All England Club.

"Growing up as tennis players you always dream of winning grand slams and doing well at tournaments like Wimbledon," said Venus, who will defend the doubles title with her sister.

"To have an opportunity to win a gold medal and be mentioned among all the great athletes, that's an honour."

Between them, Serena and Venus have won 10 singles titles on Wimbledon's manicured lawns along with five doubles crowns, the most recent three weeks ago.

They have never lost as a doubles partnership at an Olympic Games, taking gold in 2000 and 2008, while Venus also has a singles gold in her trophy case from Sydney.

There is also the possibility of a Williams playing mixed doubles and adding to their medal haul. The U.S. will not confirm their mixed doubles teams until next Tuesday.

After pulling out of her World Team Tennis commitments to rest a sore back last week, Serena had more bad news for her opponents, saying she was back to full fitness.

"I think when we first heard about mixed that we wanted to play for all three and knew we would really have to be at the ultimate fitness level to do so," said Venus. "But at the end of the day it's going to be what our team captains want.

"Obviously we're interested in seeing who could have the best chance to win because we really want to bring medals home.

"It's about the betterment of the team and what would be the best for the USA."

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