David Beckham will be missing and so, likely, will Oscar Pistorius, whose remarkable run on his magical blades came up agonizingly short.
They were always going to be sideshows in London anyway, in an Olympics that hardly needs a supporting cast.

When London snatched the Olympics out of the hands of Paris a few years back, the British were pretty confident they would score well. But even organizing chief Sebastian Coe couldn’t have imagined the spectacle that will play out over 17 days in London.

The Queen will be on hand, of course. So will Paul McCartney, leading some 80,000 people in a sing-along to open the games this month.