Here’s CTV’s press release on its plans for the Olympic Opening Ceremony. It will air pre-Opening Ceremony special at 2 p.m. ET followed by …. wait for it… the Opening Ceremony live at 4 p.m.! Yes, a network that is actually airing the event live! And it’s followed by an immediate re-airing in primetime on the networks of the Canadian Olympic Broadcast Consortium comprising of CTV, TSN, Sportsnet, RDS and on demand at CTVOlympics.com.
Let’s take a look at the plans of CTV for the Opening Ceremony. Canada’s Olympic host Brian Williams will be the man on the scene in London and he’ll be joined by CTV News anchor Lisa LaFlamme. The pre-show will be co-hosted by TSN’s James Duthie and Jennifer Ledger.
Here’s the press release.
Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium Announces Broadcast Details for London 2012 Opening Ceremony, Friday
OLYMPIC PRIME TIME ON CTV host Brian Williams and CTV NATIONAL NEWS anchor Lisa LaFlamme guide viewers through the main show beginning at 4 p.m. ET
Pre-show at 2 p.m. ET hosted by James Duthie and Jennifer Hedger will debut the London version of the Consortium’s critically-acclaimed Opening Essay
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to officially open the Games
London 2012 Opening Ceremony to air live simultaneously across Consortium platforms including CTVOlympics.ca and RDSolympiques.caToronto, ON (July 24, 2012) – Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium announced today details for its coverage of the LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES OPENING CEREMONY, airing live across Consortium platforms this Friday, July 27. The pre-show and the London 2012 Opening Ceremony will be available on CTV, RDS, Sportsnet, TSN, V, OMNI.2, ATN, CTVOlympics.ca, RDSolympiques.ca, and on the CTV Olympics London 2012 and RDS olympiques pour Londres 2012 Apps.
The coverage kicks off with the pre-show at 2 p.m. ET led by James Duthie and Jennifer Hedger, hosts of OLYMPIC DAYTIME ON CTV. This will include an overview of the big stories of the Games, the debut of the Consortium’s critically-acclaimed features –including the popular Opening Essay written by Stephen Brunt – and live reports from Olympic Stadium with Brian Williams and Lisa LaFlamme. Beginning at 4 p.m. ET, Williams and LaFlamme take over and walk Canadians through the three-and-a-half hour Opening Ceremony, directed by two-time Academy Award®-winner Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire).
“The Opening Ceremony is always one of the most exciting events of the Olympic Games,” said Adam Ashton, President, Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium. “It transcends sports, setting the stage and the tone for the host city and its visitors. We are confident that the London 2012 Opening Ceremony will be truly spectacular.”
With a potential worldwide audience of more than one billion people, the London 2012 Opening Ceremony has been dubbed the “Isles of Wonder”, as described in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. With the largest sets ever built, the spectacle will feature numerous performances as well as the Parade of Athletes, incorporating more than 200 nations, including Team Canada led by triathlete Simon Whitfield into the Olympic Stadium. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will officially open London 2012 and become the first Head of State and monarch to open two Games in two separate countries – Montreal 1976 and London 2012.
An encore of the London 2012 Opening Ceremony will be available on most Consortium networks directly following the original airing and viewers can also watch it on demand at CTVOlympics.ca and RDSolympiques.ca. Additionally, video description will be available for the broadcasts of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, provided by Descriptive Video Works. This marks the first time this service will be available to blind and visually impaired audiences for the Olympic Games.
Viewers can also listen to special coverage of the Opening Ceremony on Sportsnet 590 The FAN live from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET. The station kicks into high gear at 4 p.m. ET with live coverage, including interviews with Alex Seixeiro and David Alter from the Olympic Stadium.
London 2012 Opening Ceremony By The Numbers:
- 15,000 square metres of staging, equivalent to 12 Olympic-sized swimming pools
- 12,956 props, more than 100 times the amount used in a West End musical
- 10,000 adult volunteer performers
- 900 children volunteers from schools in the six host boroughs – Barking and Dagenham, Greenwich, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, and Waltham Forest
- 25 tonnes, the amount the flying system can lift; equivalent to the weight of five elephants
- 23 tonnes, the weight of the largest harmonically-tuned bell in the world, measuring two metres tall by three metres wide
Best known for his Best Director win at the Academy Awards® for Slumdog Millionaire, critically-acclaimed Artistic Director Danny Boyle was born in Manchester, England. Boyle has dedicated his life to directing and producing and is linked to noteworthy films including 127 Hours, 28 Days Later, The Beach, Shallow Grave, Sunshine, and Trainspotting.
Beginning Saturday, July 28, viewers can watch all-day Olympic Games programming on the following channels. For Consortium scheduling information, visit the Bell Viewers’ Guide at CTVOlympics.ca/guide, RDSolympiques.ca/leguide or download the CTV Olympics London 2012 and RDS olympiques pour Londres 2012 Apps.
CTV
Show: OLYMPIC MORNING
4 a.m. – 12 p.m. ET/1 a.m. – 9 a.m. PT
(9 a.m. – 5 p.m. BST*)
Hosts: Dave Randorf and Catriona Le May Doan
Coverage: Live SportsShow: OLYMPIC DAYTIME
12 – 6 p.m. ET/9 a.m. – 3 p.m. PT
(5 – 11 p.m. BST*)
Hosts: James Duthie and Jennifer Hedger
Coverage: Live SportsShow: OLYMPIC PRIME TIME
7 – 11 p.m. ET/CT/MT/PT and 8 – 12 a.m. AT
(12 – 4 a.m. BST*)
Host: Brian Williams
Coverage: Live show with best of day highlights and feature interviewsShow: OLYMPIC OVERNIGHT
12 – 4 a.m. ET
(5 – 9 a.m. BST*)
Host: Brian Williams
Encore presentation of OLYMPIC PRIME TIME in ETRDS
Show: LONDRES 2012 À RDS
4 a.m. – 12 p.m. ET
(9 a.m. – 5 p.m. BST*)
Host: Claude Mailhot
Coverage: Live Sports12 – 6:30 p.m. ET
(5 – 11:30 p.m. BST*)
Host: Alain Crête
Coverage: Live SportsShow: AUJOURD’HUI À LONDRES SUR RDS
7 – 11 p.m. ET
(12 – 4 a.m. BST*)
Host: Chantal Machabée
Coverage: Live show with best of day highlights and feature interviewsShow: AUJOURD’HUI À LONDRES SUR RDS – Rediffusion
12 – 4 a.m. ET
(5 – 9 a.m. BST*)
Host: Chantal Machabée
Coverage: Encore presentation of AUJOURD’HUI À LONDRES SUR RDSSportsnet
Show: OLYMPIC MORNING
6 a.m. – 12 p.m. ET/3 a.m. – 9 a.m. PT
(11 a.m. – 5 p.m. BST*)
Host: Don Taylor
Coverage: Live SportsShow: OLYMPIC DAYTIME
12 – 5 p.m. ET/9 a.m. – 2 p.m. PT
(5 – 10 p.m. BST*)
Host: Daren Millard
Coverage: Live SportsShow: OLYMPIC PRIME TIME
7 – 11 p.m. ET/MT/PT and 8 p.m. – 12 a.m. AT
(12 – 4 a.m. BST*)
Host: Brad Fay
Coverage: Best of day highlights and feature interviewsTSN
Show: OLYMPIC MORNING
6 a.m. – 12 p.m. ET
(11 a.m. – 5 p.m. BST*)
Host: Kate Beirness
Coverage: Live SportsShow: OLYMPIC DAYTIME
12 – 5 p.m. ET
(5 – 10 p.m. BST*)
Host: Michael Landsberg
Coverage: Live SportsShow: OLYMPIC PRIME TIME
7 – 11 p.m. ET
(12 – 4 a.m. BST*)
Host: Darren Dutchyshen
Coverage: Live show with best of day highlights and feature interviewsV
Show: LONDRES 2012 À V
4 a.m. – 12 p.m. ET
(9 a.m. – 5 p.m. BST*)
Host: Yanick Bouchard
Coverage: Live Sports12 – 6 p.m. ET
(5 – 11 p.m. BST*)
Host: Frédéric Plante
Coverage: Live SportsShow: AUJOURD’HUI À LONDRES SUR V
7 – 11 p.m. ET
(12 – 4 a.m. BST*)
Host: Jean Pagé
Coverage: Live show with best of day highlights and feature interviews*BST – British Summer Time (five hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time)
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
@CTVOlympics
@RDSolympiques
facebook.com/CTVOlympics
facebook.com/RDSolympiquesGoogle+
CTVOlympics
RDSolympiques
And I’ll be doing links next.
