Nelson Mandela will stand alongside the President, Mrs Mary McAleese, to declare the 2003 Games officially open.

And they're coming

The stellar line-up for the opening ceremony concert (compared by Kielty) doesn't end there, lending their talents to the night are The Corrs, Colin Farrell, Heather Locklear, Ashley Judd, U2, Samantha Mumba, Ronan Tynan, Macnas, and the largest Riverdance group ever assembled.

Having met the Spice Girls and David Beckham, Mr Mandela is no stranger to the world of international celebrity. As a guest of honour at the opening ceremony on in Croke Park on Saturday, he will stand alongside the President, Mrs Mary McAleese, to declare the 2003 games officially open.

For Rupert Murray, creative director of the ceremony, it's a dream line-up.

"I drew up a wish list at the start, and what we've got is pretty close to it. In fact, if I'd just been handed this list at the beginning, I'd be pretty impressed."

The whole show, which will be broadcast live on RTÉ, is due to last three hours, but for Murray, it's the culmination of 18 months work.

"I was approached a year and a half ago and started thinking about it immediately. And I've been working on it full time since October.

"It's been a whole lot of work, building the evening around the ceremonial building blocks - the parade of athletes, the bearing of the flag, the lighting of the torch - everything centres around these."

The show kicks off with a dance routine performed by 350 representatives from host towns throughout the country. Each host town has designed a flag which will be incorporated into the dance routine.

It's important that the night is "interactive and inclusive", Murray says, and in the spirit of full participation, the audience will wave coloured flags, made by the prisoners and staff of Mountjoy Prison.

The host town dancers will form a guard of honour for the parade of athletes. With some 7,000 competitors from 160 countries attending with their coaches, the parade should be in the region of 9,000-strong.

U2, including Bono and the Edge (left) will play a part.

For the Games Organising Committee, this in itself has been a massive feat of logistics.

"The Games Organising Committee's ceremonies department has been putting all of this in place, organising how to get the buses to the stadium, making sure the timing is right; in a sense I have the glamorous job," Murray says.

The honour of lighting the flame of hope, which will be placed in a cauldron designed and constructed by the National College of Art and Design, will be taken by 16-year-old Derry athlete David McCauley.

McCauley, who is to compete in the ten-pin bowling competition at the games, will light the flame in front of an estimated television audience of over one billion viewers.

The Olympic flag will be carried to the stadium by athletes accompanied by a drum score by percussionist Noel Eccles, before a raising ceremony.

The centrepiece of the showwill be a rendition of a specially composed athletes' song, May We Never Have to Say Goodbye. Incorporating the National Symphony Orchestra and a choir of 500, the performance will trumpet the arrival of the Olympic flame and flag.

The Riverdance sequence will involve more than 100 dancers, creating the longest troupe line ever seen in an Irish dance show, introduced by new female soloist Lynn Hilary from Blackrock, Dublin, who won a nationwide competition for the part.

Pageant reliables Macnas will be joined by the Blue Teapot Theatre Company, a group of performers with varying degrees of learning disabilities, to celebrate the ball sports of the Olympic games, climaxing with the appearance of "Ballboy", a giant inflatable character.

The theme of the evening is "celebration", Murray says.

"I hope we will echo the feelings of the entire country and set the tone for the games."

Given the diverse range of performers, a full dress rehearsal won't be possible, but, says Murray, there will be a chance for everyone to get some on-stage time before the big night.

"People are well prepared. They've been rehearsing with their own groups all along, and all the musical performers will be there to do a sound check - at the very least. I guess now it's just our job to make sure that everybody doesn't bump into each other."

HILL TALK: preparation stage

A crew of 250 began work last week on the conversion of Hill 16 in Croke Park into the staging area for the games ceremonies.

The stage, 250 foot wide by 85 foot high, will be one of the largest ever constructed in Ireland. One thousand metres of aluminium and 700 square metres of canvas will be used in its construction.

A total of 15,000 square metres of protective covering will be laid on the pitch and 10,000 temporary seats will be installed in the stadium, bringing the capacity to 85,000.

Twenty-one television cameras and three cranes will cover the opening ceremony. Twenty-five kilometres of cable will be used for lights, sound, cameras and screens.