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Paul McCartney to headline Olympic gig

London - Sir Paul McCartney will perform at the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony concert on 27 July.

The 69-year-old singer confirmed on Tuesday that he will headline the gig to celebrate the sporting event.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live's Drive he's "been booked" for the musical performance and will in fact be "closing the opening".

He is the first performer to announce his involvement in the ceremony while the line-up has yet to be released.

Frankenstein inspired

According to the BBC, a total cast of 15 000 will take part in the Olympic opening ceremony next month, and it's expected to be watched by four billion people worldwide.

Filmmaker Danny Boyle, the ceremony's creative director, told Vogue he borrowed ideas from Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein - and his hit production of the novel-inspired play starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller - when planning for the event with musical directors Underworld.

McCartney - who performed several songs as part of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee celebration on Monday - admitted that "on certain occasions" he still gets nervous performing.

Paul concluded the concert, following fellow big names like Sir Elton John and Stevie Wonder, and joked to the crowd to exit "in an orderly fashion" or Her Majesty would "unleash the corgis."

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