A "spectacular line-up" of performers will be revealed when details of the Special Olympics opening ceremony are announced tomorrow, the event organisers said yesterday.
The former South African president, Mr Nelson Mandela, is expected to perform the official opening of the games in Dublin, but this has not been officially confirmed yet.
The all-ticket event will be held in Croke Park on Saturday, June 21st.
Celebrities such as actor Colin Farrell, footballer Roy Keane and the Corrs have already lent their support to the Special Olympics, which will be the largest sporting event in the world this year.
Mr Mandela is due to receive an honorary doctorate from NUI Galway on the day before the opening ceremony.
Reports that the U2 singer, Bono, would be involved in the opening ceremony were described yesterday by a Special Olympics spokesman, Mr Julian Davis, as "speculation".
"I can only say that the opening ceremony is going to be a very spectacular occasion," he said.
The 3½-hour event will be a mixture of Olympic pageantry and entertainment.
It is being organised by the Riverdance promoters, Tyrone Productions and MCD Productions. They have promised a "visual extravaganza" encompassing the entire stadium. The ceremony will include music, song, dance and cultural activity from "some much-loved and world-famous celebrities", according to the organisers.
The opening of the Special Olympics will include the parade of athletes, the swearing of the Olympic oath, the raising of the flag and the lighting of the Olympic flame.
This is the first time the Special Olympics will have been held outside the United States since Ms Eunice Kennedy Shriver organised the first international games in 1968.
Some 7,000 athletes with learning disabilities will take part, accompanied by 3,000 coaches and delegates and 28,000 family members and friends.
The participating teams will be hosted by local communities all over the island from June 16th to 20th.
The teams will then move to Dublin for the competitions, which begin on June 21st.
Half-a-million people are expected to attend the events in locations such as the Phoenix Park, the National Basketball Arena and the new National Aquatic Centre in Abbotstown.
The closing ceremony will be held in Croke Park on Sunday, June 29th.
A range of official merchandise and memorabilia has already gone on sale, from €2 pins and fridge magnets to a €1,700 limited-edition Share the Feeling sculpture by John Behan.
The Central Bank has issued commemorative €5 and €10 coins, while Ordnance Survey Ireland has produced a limited edition guide for the games.
A flagship store has opened at Dublin Airport to promote the merchandise, and the Games themselves.
