London will be the next city to host the summer Olympic Games after Beijing. And Beijing will formally pass the Olympic flag to London during the closing ceremony of the upcoming Olympic Games. Following the hand-over, London will be given 8 minutes to perform. And performers in London have been busy rehearsing for the show -- widely regarded as a prelude to the London Olympics.
It's a scorching summer day at London's Wembley Stadium. But the high temperatures didn't reduce these dancers' enthusiasm for their first group rehearsal for the 8-minute performance at the hand-over ceremony in Beijing.
The 40 dancers from the Royal Opera House, CanDoDo and Zoo Nation are determined to reflect a cultural and dynamic London through their performance. The head of the hand-over ceremony performance, Martin Green, says the show will be a collective display of various elements. Among them, ballet, modern dance and hip-hop. And Britain's national anthem will be sung by 25 members of the National Youth Theater.
Stephen Powell, Creative Director of LOCOG said "London has maintained its edginess, coolness, as well as its history and its amazing iconic buildings and heritage. So we want to put them all together."
The British dancers will arrive in Beijing on August 8th, the day of the opening ceremony. After that, they will continue rehearsing in the suburbs of Beijing until show time.
(CCTV July 30, 2008)
