The 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremonies will begin at 9:00 p.m. in London and 3:00 p.m. CST.

Anticipation of Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle’s £27 million opening ceremony has built in UK media. Boyle, known for his film “Slumdog Millionaire,” told The Guardian the performance to be unveiled in Stratford wouldn’t surpass Beijing’s 2008 ceremonies in scale.

The ceremony is reported to feature live pastoral scenes with real animals.

Those unable to obtain tickets for the show in Stratford’s Olympic Park also have large public viewing screens setup in Victoria Park and Hyde Park. Pubs, restaurants and other establishments are promoting viewing parties for the ceremonies.

An estimated one billion people worldwide are expected to tune in to watch the spectacle. Twitter users flooded the social network with complaints that NBC will not be streaming the ceremony live online. There hasn’t been an Olympic opening digitally broadcast to date.