FILM-MAKER Danny Boyle has formally unveiled his plans to turn London’s Olympic Stadium into the British countryside for the Games’ opening ceremony.

The Radcliffe-born artistic director will create a meadow with real animals, grass and clouds that will rain down for the £27 million spectacular.

Farmers will till soil while animals graze, including 12 horses, three cows, two goats, 10 chickens, 10 ducks, nine geese, 70 sheep and three sheep dogs.

Circling the meadow will be a strip made to look like water, which will be a parade ground for the athletes during the ceremonial sections.

Families will have picnics and play sports on the village green and members of the public will be in mosh pits, in a nod to Glastonbury Festival.

The 10,000 volunteers, cast and crew have been rehearsing day and night, and installation of “one of the largest sets ever built” will begin in the Olympic Stadium soon.

Danny said: “The opening scene of the July 27 ceremony represents a traditional and idyllic view of the British countryside.

“It is a green and pleasant land because it is something we are really proud of.”

The Oscar-winning director of Slumdog Millionaire compared masterminding the ceremony with working on Hollywood films. He said: “Obviously, this thing is so big that you cannot control it in quite the same way as you could a film.

“The difference is that with film, you do a bit of filming and you get your minute of film for that day. All the planning for this comes together for this one evening. We are trying to make it feel like it is the live recording of a film.”