Over 30 British celebrities jumped at the chance to be involved in ‘2012 Hours to Go: An Evening of Athletics and Entertainment’ including Tottenham-born rapper and song-writer Chipmunk, impressionist Jon Culshaw, singer Melanie C, two of Britain’s most celebrated Olympians Sir Steve Redgrave and Mark Foster, Hugh Bonneville of Twenty Twelve and Downton Abbey fame and comedian Jack Whitehall.
From 7pm, spectators will be able to enjoy the final 90 minutes of the British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) Visa Outdoor Athletics Championships, plus a series of UK Athletics invitational events featuring some of Britain's best athletes, before presenters Vernon Kay and Gabby Logan take over and lead the celebration.
Celebrity challenges
Celebrities and athletes will get involved in a series of stunts, games and challenges including zorbing, a bicycle relay challenge, and Olympic sports of the past in order to win prizes for members of the audience.
The Military Wives will lead a mass sing-a-long of the national anthem and the final challenge of the evening will see Paralympic gold medal-winning archer Danielle Brown shoot arrows at a series of spinning targets to select a young person from the audience to take part in a once in a lifetime opportunity to open the Olympic Stadium.
Seb Coe, Chair of LOCOG said: ‘This event is very important to us for a number of reasons. Seeing athletes on the track for the first time will be a special moment for me personally and then welcoming 40,000 people into the Stadium on Saturday night will be a major milestone.
‘This crowd will not only be starting their Olympic journey just weeks ahead of the Games, they will also play a vital role in helping us test the venue and earn our licence to operate the Stadium.’
