The Olympics have finally arrived. On Friday, the world’s biggest sporting event will kick-off with the Opening Ceremonies, a festival honoring the host city London, the 204 countries participating, and the athletes.

Friday night’s event will be staged at London’s new Olympic Stadium in the eastern part of the city. London is the first city to have hosted the Olympics on three occasions.

Athletes from just 14 countries headed to Athens in 1896, in 2012 London will be playing host to 204 nations. Newly independent South Sudan and the former Netherlands Antilles have no National Olympic Committees. Their athletes will participate under the Olympic flag.

Here’s a quick cheat sheet for you:

WHEN: London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony can be seen at 7:30 pm ET on NBC.

WHERE: Olympic stadium is the centerpiece of London's Olympic Park, which is hosting all of the athletics and paralympic athletics events.

The Stadium seats up to 80,000 people, and 55,000 of the seats are removable. About 10,000 tons of steel were used to build the venue, compared to the 42,000 used by Beijing for their ‘Bird’s Nest’.

THE SHOW: This year's show is called the “Isle of Wonder.” A celebration of British culture, with a touch of Shakespeare, pop music, James Bond — and even some farm animals. Up to a billion people are expected to tune in to the $42 million, three-hour extravaganza.

Over 15,000 volunteers have worked together on the show that will bring you through the rich and textured journey through British history.

PM will be following the Opening Ceremonies LIVE, and will be giving you a pocket guide to Friday’s Olympics kick-off. Bookmark and refresh this page for our most recent updates.

LIVE UPDATE:

Friday, 3 pm: 11 Reasons to Be Excited For the Opening Ceremonies: The London Olympics, the 2012 Olympic Games, the XXX Olympiad - whichever name you choose - is beginning on Friday. The international athletic competition always kicks off with an opening ceremony, which allows the host country to celebrate its culture and history while welcoming other nations. 

The world will be watching London’s three-hour long opening ceremony with excitement. Traditional elements - the Parade of Nations, the torchbearers, the speeches - will rouse the audience as usual. But since the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, host countries have made opening ceremonies increasingly spectacular. Here are the 12 things we’re most excited to see in London’s opening ceremony:

1) The Olympic Flame

The fire symbolizes the games, honoring Prometheus’ theft of the fire of Zeus in ancient Greek mythology. After 70 days of nationwide travel, the 2012 flame has arrived at City Hall on the Queen’s rowbarge Gloriana after navigating the maze at Hampton Court Palace and sailing down the Thames. At the opening ceremony, the fire will light up the Olympic Cauldron - but the identity of the cauldron lighter is a mystery. Muhammad Ali, the legendary boxer, is one famous figure who has lit the cauldron.

2) … and the torchbearer 

Soccer player David Beckham and Prince William are rumored torchbearers for this year’s opening ceremony. Who do you think it should be? 

3) Slumdog Millionaire Pt. 2. 

British filmmaker Danny Boyle, who directed the Oscar-winning movie about the Indian teen who competes on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, will be directing the opening ceremonies. He spent £27 million and employed 15,000 volunteers. 

4) Shakespeare

Titled “Isles of Wonder,” the main artistic performance will be based on William Shakespeare’sThe Tempest.

5) English culture and history

The artistic performance will also allow the U.K. to portray the English national narrative. It begins with a scene of the English countryside, with pastoral imagery such as fields, fences, hedges, 70 sheep, 12 horses, nine geese, three cows, shepherdesses, and “even a game of village cricket.” But the peaceful rural scene will darken with sooty chimneys and smoking steel works of ‘dark Satanic Mills,’ symbols of 19th century urban England as imagined by Charles Dickens. Throughout the performance, British music from classical to psychedelic rock to current pop songs will provide the soundtrack.

6) James Bond and The Queen 

Boyle reportedly will include a short film featuring Daniel Craig and Queen Elizabeth II. The British duo will begin at Buckingham Palace before exploring London.

7) Downton Abbey 

The cast of Downton Abbey, the hit TV series about pre- and post-Great War England, will also make an appearance at some point in the ceremony. 

8) Savannah Guthrie and Ryan Seacrest 

Although Bob Costas is the main host for NBC, American audiences will be focusing on Todayshow anchor Savannah Guthrie and American Idol host Ryan Seacrest. Guthrie replaced NBC correspondent Ann Curry as co-host of Today earlier this summer with hopes to bringing more warmth and charm. So far, she’s been plagued by migraines that have disrupted her work, so viewers will watch to see if she will be a strong Olympic host. Seacrest, the TV and radio personality, will definitely bring his hosting skills to London. Matt Lauer, Meredith Viera, and Tom Brokaw will also be major hosts. (NBC has spent over $1 billion on the Olympics in attempts to win the brand). 

9) “Hey Jude” and “Let it Be” 

Sir Paul McCartney, who wrote those iconic Beatles songs, will be closing the opening ceremonies. His playlist is still a secret, but “Hey Jude” is a rumored song. 

10) Independent athletes 

New country South Sudan and former nation Netherlands Antilles will have athletes at the Olympics. Guor Marial, a marathon runner, is a South Sudanese refugee of a 36-year civil war. These countries do not have National Olympic Committees, however, so they will march under Independent Olympic Athletes in the Parade of Nations tonight.

11) Michelle Obama

The First Lady, the leader of the U.S. delegation in London, will be at the opening ceremony. Between her healthy eating campaign for 1,000 American and British children and her Olympic duties, Obama will be shining tonight. 

"Try to have fun. Try to breathe a little bit," Obama said to the U.S. athletes upon arrival. "But also win, right?" 

Friday, 2 pm: A Quick Glance at the Closing Ceremonies: The word on the street is the Spice Girls will be performing at the Olympics Closing Ceremony. According to the Huffington Post: “All five original members -- Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice), Emma Bunton (Baby Spice), Melanie Chisholm (Sporty Spice), Melanie Brown (Scary Spice) and Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice) -- will join other pop stars such as One Direction, George Michael, The Who, Take That and Jessie J, for the closing show on Aug. 12.”

The massive show will include “more than 4,100 performers at this year's Closing Ceremony, including 380 children from six host boroughs in London.” 

While the eclectic show will also include British performers like Russell Brand, and Tinie Tempah. As well as some up and comers like Emeli Sande, and legends like Queen. There is not that one big performer that will get people unbelievably excited to tune in, besides its reputation that it is the Olympics Closing Ceremony. 

While the music groups aren’t quite up my alley, before even hearing the list of performers I would think prominent british artists would be in attendance, such as: Adele, Florence and the Machine, Coldplay, or even Katy B who is already a fairly popular new artist. 

But for what the ceremony misses in a “headliner” or a buzz-worthy performer it makes up for in quantity and diversity. With a collection of the mentioned pop legends, up-and-comers, and variety acts as well as the classier symphonies. With this variety it will keep those who tune-in, intrigued. 

It’s not apparent exactly how the Olympic Committee decides who the performers are. But does it say something that perhaps the most talked about and buzzworthy group, the spice girls, aren’t even from this decade? Maybe, but we love our 90s boy bands and girl groups and many of those competing in the Olympics, as well as watching, will be millennials. Being able to watch our favorite music groups perform at one of the best ceremonies ever would not only be fun but nostalgic. 

Regardless of who is performing and who is not, the ceremony line-up (complete with fireworks) will be sure to be a blowout of epic proportions.

Where to Watch:

All of the major programming that is listed below will be on NBC. However, the NBC family of networks (Bravo, NBC Sports, MSNBC, and CNBC) will also be showing events throughout the day (check out TVGuide.com for specifics). Finally, in addition to television, NBC will also be using the website NBCOlympics.com and a smartphone app in order to be able to stream every event live for the first time ever.

Below are the specifics on where and when to watch major Olympic on NBC during week one (Friday, July 27 to Saturday, August 4):

Friday, July 27 – 7:30 p.m. EDT

• Opening Ceremony

Saturday, July 28 – 5:00 a.m. EDT

 

Candace Parker (left), Diana Taurasi (right), and the rest of the U.S. women's basketball team will face off against Croatia.

• Final, Men’s Cycling (Road Race)
• Preliminaries, U.S. Women’s Volleyball
• Preliminaries, U.S. Women’s Basketball
• Preliminaries, Beach Volleyball

Saturday, July 28 – 8:00 p.m. EDT

 

American swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte are expected to face off in the men's 400m IM final on Saturday night. 

• Final, Men’s 400m Individual Medley
• Final, Men’s 400m Freestyle
• Final, Women’s 400m Individual Medley
• Final, Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay
• Qualification, Men’s Gymnastics (Team Competition)
• Preliminaries, U.S. Women’s Beach Volleyball

Sunday, July 29 – 12:30 a.m. EDT

• Final, Women’s 48kg Weightlifting

Sunday, July 29 – 7:00 a.m. EDT

 

Volleyball players Todd Rogers (left) and Phil Dalhausser (right), who will play Sunday morning, will try to defend their gold from Beijing.

• Finals, Women’s Cycling (Road Race)
• Preliminaries, U.S. Men’s Volleyball
• Preliminaries, U.S. Men’s Water Polo
• Preliminaries, U.S. Men’s Beach Volleyball
• Preliminaries, U.S. Women’s Beach Volleyball
• Qualification, Women’s Gymnastics (Team Competition)

Sunday, July 29 – 7:00 p.m. EDT

 

The U.S. women's gymnastics team, led by standouts Gabby Douglas (far left) and Jordyn Wieber (second from right), will try to improve on their silver in 2008. 

• Final, Women’s 100m Butterfly
• Final, Women’s 400m Freestyle
• Final, Men’s 100m Breaststroke
• Final, Men’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay
• Final, Women’s Synchronized Diving (Springboard)
• Qualification, Women’s Gymnastics

Monday, July 30 – 12:35 a.m. EDT

• Preliminaries, Men’s Canoeing (Slalom)
• Preliminaries, Women’s Canoeing (Slalom)
• Preliminaries, Men’s Kayaking

Monday, July 30 – 10:00 a.m. EDT

 

After a feature in ESPN The Magazine's "The Body Issue," the U.S. women's team is looking for redemption against the Brazilians, who stole the gold in Beijing. 

• Preliminaries, U.S. Women’s Volleyball
• Preliminaries, U.S. Women’s Water Polo
• Preliminaries, Beach Volleyball
• Qualification, Men’s Swimming
• Qualification, Women’s Swimming
• Qualification, Men’s Rowing
• Qualification, Women’s Rowing
• Qualification, Men’s Canoeing
• Qualification, Women’s Canoeing

Monday, July 30 – 8:00 p.m. EDT

 

After a disappointing bronze medal in Beijing, the U.S. men's gymnastics team is looking to bounce back as they compete for the team gold medal. 

• Final, Men’s Gymnastics (Team Competition)
• Final, Men’s 200m Freestyle
• Final, Men’s 100m Backstroke
• Final, Women’s 100m Backstroke
• Final, Women’s 100m Breaststroke
• Final, Men’s Synchronized Diving (Platform)
• Preliminaries, U.S. Women’s Beach Volleyball

Tuesday, July 31 – 12:35 a.m. EDT

• Semifinal, Women’s 200m Individual Medley
• Preliminaries, Men’s Two-Man Canoe
• Preliminaries, Women’s Two-Man Canoe
• Preliminaries, Women’s Kayaking

Tuesday, July 31 – 10:00 a.m. EDT

 

Captain Tony Azevedo (right) and the rest of the U.S. men's water polo team will try to win against Romania on Tuesday on the road to improving to a gold medal from their silver in Beijing. 

• Final, Men’s Canoeing (C-1 Whitewater)
• Semifinal, Men’s Rowing
• Semifinal, Women’s Rowing
• Preliminaries, U.S. Men’s Volleyball
• Preliminaries, U.S. Men’s Water Polo
• Preliminaries, U.S. Beach Volleyball
• Qualification, Men’s Swimming
• Qualification, Women’s Swimming

Tuesday, July 31 – 8:00 p.m. EDT

 

American swimmers Allison Schmitt (left) and Missy Franklin (right) will most likely go head to head in the 200m freestyle; Schmitt edged out Franklin at Olympic trials. 

• Final, Women’s Gymnastics (Team Competition)
• Final, Men’s 200m Butterfly
• Final, Men’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay
• Final, Women’s 200m Freestyle
• Final, Women’s 200m Individual Medley
• Final, Women’s Synchronized Diving (Platform)

Wednesday, August 1 – 12:35 a.m. EDT

 

2009 Beach Volleyball World Champions Jen Kessy (left) and April Ross (right) will compete in a preliminary match against the Netherlands for the United States. 

• Preliminaries, U.S. Women’s Beach Volleyball
• Semifinal, Men’s Swimming
• Semifinal, Men’s Swimming

Wednesday, August 1 – 10:00 a.m. EDT

 

The U.S. women's water polo team will go head-to-head with the Spanish, trying to improve to a gold from their silver in Beijing. 

• Final, Men’s Rowing
• Final, Women’s Rowing
• Final, Men’s Kayaking (K-1 Whitewater)
• Final, Men’s Cycling (Individual Time Trial)
• Preliminaries, U.S. Women’s Volleyball
• Preliminaries, U.S. Women’s Water Polo
• Preliminaries, Men’s Beach Volleyball
• Preliminaries, Women’s Beach Volleyball
• Qualification, Men’s Swimming
• Qualification, Women’s Swimming

Wednesday, August 1 – 8:00 p.m. EDT

 

Will Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh go back-to-back gold? They will compete on Wednesday in a preliminary match.

• Final, Men’s 200m Breaststroke
• Final, Men’s 100m Freestyle
• Final, Women’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay
• Final, Women’s 200m Butterfly
• Final, Men’s Gymnastics (All-Around)
• Final, Men’s Synchronized Diving (Springboard)
• Preliminaries, U.S. Women’s Beach Volleyball

Thursday, August 2 – 12:35 a.m. EDT

• Semifinal, Women’s Swimming
• Preliminaries, Women’s Cycling (Road Time Trial)

Thursday, August 2 – 10:00 a.m. EDT

 

Richard Lambourne and the rest of the U.S. men's volleyball team look for a little déjà vu as they play Brazil, the team they beat in the finals in Beijing. 

• Final, Men’s Cycling (Team Sprint)
• Final, Women’s Cycling (Team Sprint)
• Final, Men’s Canoeing (C-2 Whitewater)
• Final, Men’s Rowing
• Final, Women’s Rowing
• Preliminaries, U.S. Men’s Volleyball
• Preliminaries, U.S. Men’s Water Polo
• Preliminaries, U.S. Women’s Beach Volleyball
• Qualification, Men’s Swimming
• Qualification, Women’s Swimming

Thursday, August 2 – 8:00 p.m. EDT

 

Tyler Clary, arguably the third best American swimmer behind Phelps and Lochte, is looking to make a name for himself as he competes in the 200m backstroke alongside Lochte. 

• Final, Women’s Gymnastics (Individual All-Around)
• Final, Men’s 200m Backstroke
• Final, Men’s 200m Individual Medley
• Final, Women’s 200m Breaststroke
• Final, Women’s 100m Freestyle
• Final, Women’s Rowing (Eights)
• Preliminaries, U.S. Men’s Beach Volleyball

Friday, August 3 – 12:35 a.m. EDT

 

Will China, led by world number one Wang Hao, sweep the gold, silver, and bronze, or will somebody break into this dynasty?

• Final, Women’s Kayaking (K-1 Whitewater)
• Final, Men’s Table Tennis (Singles)

Friday, August 3 – 10:00 a.m. EDT

• Final, Men’s Rowing
• Final, Women’s Rowing
• Qualification, Men’s Athletics
• Qualification, Women’s Athletics
• Qualification, Men’s Swimming
• Qualification, Women’s Swimming
• Preliminaries, Men’s Beach Volleyball
• Preliminaries, Women’s Beach Volleyball

Friday, August 3 – 8:00 p.m. EDT

 

Will American swimmer Cullen Jones be able to dethrone reigning gold medalist and Olympic record holder César Cielo in the 50m freestyle?

• Final, Men’s 100m Butterfly
• Final, Men’s 50m Freestyle
• Final, Women’s 200m Backstroke
• Final, Women’s 800m Freestyle
• Final, Men’s Athletics (Shot-Put)
• Final, Men’s Gymnastics (Trampoline)
• Preliminaries, U.S. Women’s Volleyball
• Qualification, Women’s Diving (Springboard)

Saturday, August 4 – 12:35 a.m. EDT

 

Will home field advantage play a role for Briton Jessica Ennis, or will she have no luck in this year's heptathlon?

• Final, Women’s Cycling (Keirin)
• Final, Men’s Cycling (Team Pursuit)
• Final, Women’s Heptathlon (Day 1 of 2)

Saturday, August 4 – 9:00 a.m. EDT

 

If Serena rides her momentum from Wimbledon into the Olympics to win the gold medal, she will be the first player in history to have all four Grand Slams, and both the singles and doubles gold medal. 

• Final, Women’s Tennis (Singles)
• Final, Women’s Gymnastics (Trampoline)
• Final, Men’s Rowing
• Final, Women’s Rowing
• Final, Men’s Cycling (Track)
• Final, Women’s Cycling (Track)
• Preliminaries, U.S. Men’s Volleyball
• Preliminaries, U.S. Men’s Water Polo
• Preliminaries, Men’s Beach Volleyball
• Preliminaries, Women’s Beach Volleyball
• Qualification, Men’s Athletics

Saturday, August 4 – 8:00 p.m. EDT

 

American sprinters Carmelita Jeter and Allyson Felix will most likely go head to head in the 100m dash. 

• Final, Women’s Athletics (100m)
• Final, Women’s Heptathlon (Day 2 of 2)
• Final, Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay
• Final, Women’s 4x100 Medley Relay
• Final, Women’s 50m Freestyle
• Final, Men’s 1500m Freestyle
• Semifinal, Women’s Diving (Springboard)
• Qualification, Men’s Athletics (Long Jump)
• Preliminaries, Beach Volleyball

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