“The hope was to have the cream of British music all in the lineup, but it now looks like Macca [McCartney] will be joined by some younger stars on stage,” reports the Daily Mirror. “But of all the people you would want, McCartney is No 1. He is the ultimate showman and guaranteed to get the Olympics off to a great start.”

While many Beatles fans were hoping the only other surviving Beatle Ringo Star would join him, the famous drummer will be touring in the US during the Olympics.

The London 2012 games will be compared to the Beijing opening ceremonies, who set the bar high with 15,000 performers and a budget of more than $100 million.