Cathal Smyth... taking part in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in London on Friday.

A 29 year-old Castletown physiotherapy student will be among the thousands performing in front of 80,000 spectators and billions of television viewers when he takes part in the London Olympics opening ceremony on Friday.

While he is one of thousands taking part in the event in the Olympic Stadium on Friday, Cathal Smyth says he "couldn't pass up the opportunity of being involved in the biggest sporting event in the world".

Cathal is part of the British National Health Service (NHS) group participating in the opening ceremony directed by filmmaker, Danny Boyle, which will be attended by Queen Elizabeth II.

The theme of the Olympic show will be 'Isles of Wonder' and the worldwide broadcast will commence at 9pm. It will kick off with the sound of the largest harmonically tuned bell in Europe, produced by the Whitechapel Foundry, and the stadium will be transformed into the British countryside for opening scene 'Green and Pleasant', which includes real farmyard animals.

The ceremony will also include a special sequence celebrating the best of British, featuring volunteer performers from the NHS, including Cathal, who isn't allowed reveal full details before Friday.

To read the full story see this week's Meath Chronicle.