Lynne dances her way to Olympic stage!

Lynne McDowell came through an arduous selection process to be selected as a volunteer performer as the world’s greatest sporting event gets underway in London in July.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be chosen,” Lynne told the Times.

“I’m not sure how many people actually got through but there were between 15-20,000 people applied in the first place.

“The role is as a volunteer dancer - I’m not a trained dancer who is going to be part of a specialist routine.

“There was a process to go through and I really didn’t expect to get through because the level of competition was so tough.

“I applied online to be a volunteer person, not really know what that would entail, other than that is said there were dancing roles and acting roles.

“It was a two-and-a-half hour audition where they got us to learn a hip-hop routine.

“My previous background was in Irish dancing - I danced with the Patricia McCalmont School under I was 16 when I stopped to concentrate on my studies.

“It was certainly a bit of a transformation from my Irish dancing days but I was determined to make the most of it and I put my heart and soul into it.”

Within 48 hours, Lynne discovered she had been selected for the next stage of the audition process.

“The instructor we had was a specialist hip-hop instructor who had worked with people like Leona Lewis and other big names in the music industry. He told us to treat it as a free dance lesson and that was exactly the approach I took, just concentrating on enjoying myself.”

Lynne was then delighted to receive a ‘cast offer’ to perform at the opening ceremony, which will take place on July 27.

“To say I was delighted would be a real under-statement. It’s a wonderful opportunity - a real once-in-a-lifetime thing.

“Obviously there will be a lot of hard work ahead - rehearsals start straight after Easter and it will be five hours on Saturday and Sundays each week.

“But we will also be rehearsing in the Olympic Stadium itself, which is a tremendous thrill.

“It was only when I sat down and thought about the numbers of people who will be watching across the world that I started to get butterflies in my stomach!

“I think the more you would think about something like that, the more nervous you would get, so I’m just trying to put that to the back of my mind.

“I’m hoping that by the time it comes to the opening ceremony, we’ll have practised and performed the routine so many times that the moves will just come automatically!”

Being involved in major events is nothing new for London-based Lynne, whose daytime job with the British Phonographic Industry sees her heavily involved in the music industry, including hosting politicians and journalists at events like the Brit Awards. I may live away now but I’m very much an Ahoghill girl at heart.

“I’m just so pleased that someone from our village will get an opportunity to take part in an event like the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

“It’s unlikely that I’ll ever be involved in anything as big again so I’ll give it my best shot!” added Lynne.

North Antrim MLA Jim Allister, with whom Lynne previously worked at the European Parliament, said: “I congratulate Lynne on her remarkable achievement. She brings honour not just to herself but her home area of Ahoghill.

“I had the privilege of Lynne working for me for some years in Brussels. She devotes herself 100 per cent to everything she does, so in that sense I’m not surprised that her pursuit of participation in the opening ceremony of the Olympics has been rewarded with success.”