Olympic opening ceremony director Danny Boyle has spoken of his excitement ahead of tonight's historic show.
Boyle's 'Isles of Wonder' has taken seven years of planning and cost £27m to stage, but the Oscar-winning director believes that the once-in-a-lifetime nature of it makes it well worth it.
He was also keen to stress the importance of the role played by the 15,000 volunteers who will participate in the ceremony.
"What you think about really is you think about the volunteers. The thing about directors is that they just sit at the back in the end. This is a live performance and it's the actors, and in our case they're volunteers, who have to get up there and do it," said Boyle.
"So any kind of nervousness I feel is for them really, because my nerves are not important. And the excitement I feel about it is obviously the excitement I think they feel.
"It's been a long road and we're almost there. I'm looking forward to it very much. Whatever comes our way comes our way, because it's live and it's for one time only, I'll never do one again. It is extraordinary to be involved in."
The official opening of the 2012 Olympic Games, which takes place at 9pm tonight, is expected to be watched by over 1 billion people around the world.
