First the Jubilee, now Sir Paul to play the Olympics

A performance by the former Beatle has long been rumoured, and in January he disclosed he was in talks about taking part.

“I’ve been booked,” he said yesterday, adding that he would be “closing the opening”.

He also admitted that “on certain occasions” he still gets nerves before performing.

A total cast of 15,000 will take part in the Olympic and Paralympic opening and closing ceremonies, which will be watched by an estimated worldwide audience of four billion people.

The full line-up of the opening ceremony on 27 July has yet to be announced.

Intended as a celebration showcasing the best of the host nation, it will feature a parade of all competing nations and the highly anticipated entrance of the Olympic flame, which ignites the cauldron and signals the start of the Games.

Meanwhile, a major Olympic Games concert coinciding with the opening ceremony will be headlined by 80s chart-toppers Duran Duran. The band will represent musical talent from England, alongside Snow Patrol, representing Northern Ireland, Stereophonics for Wales, and Paolo Nutini who will play for Scotland.

The inclusion of Duran Duran prompted bemusement from some music fans.

The band – formed 34 years ago – have scored just two top ten hits in the past two decades.

But the involvement of Sir Paul, whose status as a national treasure is uncontested, is unlikely to prove controversial.

The former Beatle was the closing act in Monday night’s spectacular Diamond Jubilee concert.

Meanwhile, the Olympic torch lit up the darkness in Northern Ireland’s internationally recognised natural caves yesterday.

It was taken through the maze of caverns by Olympics security officials at the Marble Arch geo-park, 12 miles from Enniskillen in Co Fermanagh. The landscape is prized by the UN for its geological heritage stretching back 650 million years.

The flame was also taken to Enniskillen Castle and around the town during its journey from Londonderry to Newry.