Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page Part of Olympics Closing Ceremony

Although Zep fans are unlikely to hear "Stairway To Heaven" or "Ramble On" blaring from the sound system during the closing ceremony of the 2008 Summer Games, Led Zeppelin guitar legend Jimmy Page will be part of the show.

Page, is set to perform with pop star Leona Lewis. Lewis, who was the third season winner of the U.K. television talent show The X Factor, which is quite similar the wildly-popular American Idol here in the U.S. Lewis is also known for her debut single, "A Moment Like This", which smashed a world record when it was downloaded more than 50,000 times within a half hour.

Selecting someone to perform with one of the most recognizable rock legends of all time may have presented a challenge for the people that are charged with making such decisions, but Leona Lewis is likely to be very widely recognized as well, considering that her album reached all the way to number one on at least three continents and nine countries.

This is all part of the Olympic tradition, where the country that is set to host the next Olympic Games performs an 8-minute show during the closing ceremony. With London set to host the 2012 Summer Games, Jimmy Page and Leona Lewis were selected to represent their country, and give the world a chance for a sneak peek at the kind of spectacle the world might expect from the U.K. in 2012.

Also selected to perform as part of the U.K. team will be dancers from urban dance group ZooNation who will be accompanied by performers from the Royal Ballet and CandoCo, a disabled dance company.

After all the accolades we have heard about the monumental expense and effort that went into the preparation for the Beijing Games, and the favorable reports on the extraordinary hospitality shown by the people of that city to accommodate visitors from around the world, the people of London are facing a daunting task to compare with the impression left after the Games in Beijing.

Tags: 2008, Beijing, Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin, Leona Lewis, Olympics

Van Halen Back On The Road

Van Halen has started up the 2008 leg of their tour and are poised to rock audiences around the country into early April.

Beginning with Oklahoma City on January 22, the group will then head to the Lone Star State for three dates before heading for venues in the south and then working their way up the east coast to New York and New England.

In other Van Halen News, guitar legend Eddie Van Halen and his son Wolfgang are to appear on the front of Guitar World magazine.

Expected to land on newsstands on February 12, the father and son team will occupy a 12-page spread to talk about their experiences on tour and, quite naturally, the equipment they are using on tour.

Tags: 2008, Guitar World, tour, Van Halen