London eyes Olympic gold

It's just the Olympics. There need not be a Churchillian call for Brits to "brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.' "

Still, as London assumes 17-day custody of the oldest surviving institution created by man, now almost 3,000 years old, the hosts have a decided responsibility. Beyond the burden of providing security for 10,000 athletes from more than 200 countries in this age of potential terrorism, London is expected to give the world -- and its own citizens -- a show worthy of the $14.5-billion price tag.

A yield of the usual Olympic magic is a foregone conclusion, that ephemeral once-every-fourth-year flash on the playing fields and the grand illusion of youth and peace. Global luminaries such as Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and American swimmer Michael Phelps, and likely some heretofore uncelebrated stars (possibly 17-year-old Colorado swimmer Missy Franklin among them), should guarantee that.

But, further, there are expectations of a legacy. Tokyo, with its 1964 Games, confirmed Japan's emergence from the World War II devastation. South Korea morphed from a police state to democracy to stage the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Barcelona used the 1992 Games to set a standard for urban renewal and Beijing, in 2008, utilized the Olympic stage to demonstrate China's arrival as a world power.

Even Los Angeles, by proving in 1984 that corporate money could keep the Olympics afloat, and Sydney, with a statement of truly Olympic hospitality, left behind more than sporting drama.

So, now, London gets its close-up. Much of the Olympic competition will unfold in a formerly run-down section of East London whose revitalization has been compared by some English commentators to the city's reincarnations following the Great Fire of 1666 and the Nazi blitz of 1940-41.

For the Chamber-of-Commerce aspect, beach volleyball will be played just behind the prime minister's 10 Downing Street residence at Horse Guards Parade, tennis on the Wimbledon grounds, archery at world-renowned Lord's Cricket Ground (just steps from the Beatles' Abbey Road Studios and that famous pedestrian crossing), with marathon runners trekking past Buckingham Palace and road cyclists past Henry VIII's favorite palace at Hampton Court.

While American television is bound to emphasize the old go-for-the-gold, flag-waving cliches, and much will be made of the fabulously paid NBA pros, London's Games will be able to offer a vivid collage of unique pomp and circumstance never before seen. Among them:

Double amputee Oscar Pistorius of South Africa will run the 400 meters and 4 x 400 relay on carbon-fiber prosthetics.

Women will compete in Olympic boxing for the first time.

Japanese equestrian Hiroshi Hoketsu, whose first Olympics was in 1964, will be the Games' oldest athlete at 71.

Some really newsy event (a scoring glitch, judging controversy, doping scandal, political gaffe) surely will occur, adding real-life spice to the whole show.

On Friday, the prescribed 15 words always used to begin this quadrennial sporting binge are scheduled to be uttered by Queen Elizabeth II, whose 60 years on the throne don't quite reach back to the last London Olympics in 1948: "I declare open the Games of London celebrating the 30th Olympiad of the modern era."

Thereafter, for London to provide anything less than a memorable Olympics will be a dereliction of duty.