Today Weymouth Beach will be buzzing with the events surrounding the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

The Live Site on Weymouth Beach officially opens today and people will be able to watch the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games live from London on the giant screens. The site will open to the public from 1pm and between 2pm and 8pm.

There will be events all afternoon including choral works with the Coastal Voices choir and the Welcome Songs performers as well as tasters of various projects that are part of this summer’s Maritime Mix London 2012 Cultural Olympiad by the Sea.

Then, twelve Team GB sailors will be taking to the stage at 7.50pm including triple gold medallist Ben Ainslie .

At 8.12pm two live screens will turn on to the opening celebrations in London that start at 9pm.

The Weymouth Beach programme will feature local artists Shooter, Gale Force 2 and Oriel Delage-Pandeli, as well as films by local schools and a multi-lingual welcome by Dorset school children.

The main ceremony will start at 9pm and will be shown on the two giant screens on the beach.

A firework display will take place in Weymouth Bay around 10.15pm to coincide with key events of the opening ceremony in London.

The free-of-charge Live Site is at the southern, Pavilion end of Weymouth Beach and, while the site will be able to entertain up to 15,000 people at any one time, access to it will be closely controlled and managed for safety reasons.

The Weymouth Beach Sports Arena opens today and will run daily between 10am and 6pm until 12 August.

People will be able to come along and try their hand at a range of sports and get some advice from the experts, including the FA and RFU. The Bayside Festival also opens on the site behind Weymouth Pavilion .

The festival offers 17 days of live music and entertainment, food courts, more than 50 retail stands and a Dorset arts and crafts zone featuring up to 20 local artists and craftsmen.

The ICCI360 Arena in front of Weymouth Pavilion will be screening 360 degree films and animation while the B-side multimedia arts festival also begins tomorrow. Tonight, the Olympic Delivery Authority will be extending the park and ride facilities at Mount Pleasant, Monkey Jump and Kingston Maurward until 12.30am.

Buses and trains will run as normal.

BATTLE FOR THE WINDS SPECTACULAR

Participants for the Battle for the Winds extravaganza stormed through Weymouth town centre bringing colour and laughter to he streets.

The Battle for the Winds is part of the Maritime Mix, London 2012 Cultural Olympiad by the Sea.

Groups from all over the country performed in different places across Weymouth and will be joining together for one big, final free performance on Saturday at the Weymouth Beach Live Site at 9pm.