The world will be turning all its attention to London over the next 17 days as the Olympic Games get under way tonight with the opening ceremony. London becomes the first city to host the Games for the third time since the modern Olympics started in 1896 – they have already been held there in 1908 and 1948.

The wait is now over for the millions of sport enthusiasts as the greatest sport manifestation involving thousands of athletes from more than 200 countries begins. Actually, the football tournament has already started, because football exigencies demand that players get at least three days of rest in between games, meaning that the football competition must last longer than the normal duration of the Games.

We all remember that the day after London won the right to hold the Games – way back in 2005 – the capital city of England was hit by a terrorist attack that left many people dead. This immediately put more pressure on the organisers to try to make sure that security is top notch. So far, so good, but an extraordinary effort is needed for the Games to be free of threats and incidents.

The International Olympic Committee has made it clear that it will be tough on cheaters, especially those who are caught taking illicit substances to enhance their performances. These athletes give sport a bad name. We all remember how sport was let down in 1988 when Ben Johnson was disqualified for having taken banned drugs to win the 100 metres athletics final in South Korea. The IOC will do well to punish cheating athletes in the harshest of ways.

The athletes who will take part have been preparing for these games for the last months, if not years. Only a small percentage of them will take a medal home. Many others will be disappointed that they do not reach their target. For the great majority, it will be a dream come true, and they will be satisfied to achieve their best personal result in the most important sport event.

Malta will be represented by five athletes: William Chetcuti in double-trap shooting, Diane Borg and Rachid Chouhal in athletics, and Andrew Chetcuti and Nikki Muscat in swimming. Chetcuti is in with a small chance of achieving what Maltese sport enthusiasts have been waiting for – a medal at the Olympic Games, but it is a tough task. We all hope that, on the day of the competition, Chetcuti will be in his best form.

Just as much as we all hope that the other four participants will obtain their personal records in the events they will be taking part in.

Let the games begin.