LONDON – London, blow our minds.

The world city that needs no introduction but could do with an Olympic-sized pick-me-up in the midst of economic recession will launch the 2012 Summer Games with a spectacular opening ceremony today that faces a unique challenge: to be as memorable as Beijing’s planet-wowing, money-no-object extravaganza of 2008.

The British capital will set itself apart, as it has so often down the centuries, by being different. Beijing’s curtain raiser featured 2,008 pounding drummers and a cauldron-lighter who seemed to float in the air of the Bird’s Nest stadium. London will have 70 sheep, 12 horses, 10 chickens and nine geese – recruited by Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle along with a cast and crew of 10,000 to present a quirky, humorous and vibrant vision of quintessential Britain, its history and future.