http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4349088.stm

Every Olympic city stamps its own identity on the opening ceremony, displaying its culture to an audience of billions.

The Barcelona games got under way to the site of massed flamenco dancers, while Athens had running Greek statues and gyrating "goddesses" holding snakes.

A Liberal Democrat peer is calling for London to follow suit in 2012 with the nearest English equivalent: Morris dancing.

Groups of people jumping around with sticks or handkerchiefs in hand are laughable to some, but Lord Redesdale thinks they could be a great advert for UK tourism
Oh yes, this is what we need when the eyes of the world are on us. Its not enough that the Americans all think we are all yellow toothed homosexuals , the French think we are all two faced cheats , and the whole world thinks our food is inedible, no, we need everyone to see a bunch of middle aged blokes with beards and bells on their ankles poncing about with hankies