Opening CeremonyJohnny Watterson on how the organisers are keeping their fingers crossed for today's event

Think what you will of opening ceremonies. Ryder Cup openings, in particular, have in the past, been as enjoyable as shooting a quadruple bogey eight. Think of all those wives lined up, all those blazers on show, all those flags and all those fixed smiles. Lee Trevino once said he couldn't wait for retirement because then he could become an official and wear one of those blazers with the little white specks on the collar.

But before Ireland blew away the opposition with Riverdance, interludes, ceremonies and entertainment slots were usually armies of volunteers and children dressed up in handmade costumes. But Riverdance really set the bar.

Today's Ryder Cup opening ceremony promises to be spectacular but only if the weather permits. There is a contingency plan to move the entire ceremony indoors if the high winds and rain remain as bad as yesterday. "We don't have an indoor venue yet but are looking for one," said Ryder Cup Director Richard Hill. "But our expectations are that it will go ahead outside."

Once again as Ireland present a competition on which the world's gaze will rest, emphasis will placed on how best to derive maximum exposure and benefit for the country from the biennial event. Fintan Drury and his Platinum One company under the creative guide of Riverdance executive producer, Julian Erskine, have been charged with doing the job.

We have been promised nothing will be spared when the opening ceremony, particularly, will attempt to encapsulate all the cultural delights that define Ireland. "It's 75 minutes and pretty spectacular," says Erskine, who heads up the creative side of the project following the death of the original creative personality, Rupert Murray. "We will be mixing pageantry and entertainment with ceremony. We have scaled it very big because, don't forget, there will be a potential live audience of 30,000 people. Everyone who paid in to see the practice session can stay on for the opening.

"It's certainly non-stop with the essential elements of the president's speech, the teams, the national anthems and the announcement of the pairings for the following day. The entertainment will be interspersed with the formalities."

Donal Lunny, co-founder of Planxty, has composed a specially commissioned Ryder Cup anthem to be played by 12 traditional Irish musicians, a 45-person choir and 18-piece orchestra. MacTeo, the entertainment company who have worked on U2's Zooropa Tour and Nelson Mandela's Tribute Ball, amongst other projects, are also on board.

President Mary McAleese will formally open the event, while the opening ceremony MC will be Sharon Ní Bheoláin. Featuring close to 400 performers, the pageant will use Irish music, story, legend and myth to bring to life Ireland's relationship with golf. Other acts include the Catalan group El Comediants and Cois Céim.

According to market research, while many may talk about it, only six per cent of US golfers have visited Ireland, while 80 per cent of US golf tour operators believe that customers will be more interested in Ireland as a destination because of the Ryder Cup. "The aspiration behind it is to showcase Ireland in a multifaceted way rather other than in a way purely rooted in golf," says Platinum One chairman Drury.

"Over the three days there will be massive exposure of Ireland as a golf destination while the opening will be carried extensively live and in news clips throughout the world. There will be a massive global audience watching it anyway so why replicate the golf message."

As it stands, the stage has been constructed on the practice ground when the course is configured in the original way, ie beside the first tee. (The first tee is the 10th tee for the Ryder Cup). "This is not a cheap thing to do," adds Drury. "But there is a very big musical quotidian and it will be visually spectacular."

Hopefully it will be on the golf course. At this stage it's simply fingers crossed.