8.12am London will welcome the world!

The bells will ring out all over the country to mark the beginning of the day when Great Britain welcomes the Olympic family.

In the old days, before phones and internet, village bells and beacons were the main way of communicating important information across the land.  With a very special message to send across the land on Friday, Big Ben will lead the country in 3 minutes of bell ringing.

Everyone has been encouraged to ring a bell, whether it be a phone bell, cow bell, church bell or bicycle bell, just to join in the joyous celebration of the start of our Olympics.