In a departure from the long-accepted approach as mastered by the Chinese, the British Olympics Minister, Tessa Jowell, revealed that London has no intention of attempting to outdo Beijing's monumental display in 2012. Rather, the city will enjoy a series of creative, if smaller, events to unite into a "deeply democratic" display of its citizenry.

Ms Jowell's first hint at London's ceremonial plans, reported in The Independent newspaper, comes on the eve of a visit to the stadium next week by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and executives from its Australian-led builders, Westfield, who are constructing the town centre next to the stadium.

"We don't want to try to emulate Beijing. What we want is new ways of thinking about the opening ceremony. We want the whole of London to be involved, with different parts of London taking part in the ceremony," she said.

"The London Games must be deeply democratic, with the city's citizens feeling they're intimately involved. I think what you will see is a very vivid sense of celebration right across the city at both the opening and closing ceremonies."

Ms Jowell also flagged that the ticket system used at Wimbledon may be the model for that considered for the 2012 Olympiad. There, fans who leave the courts before the end of play are encouraged to hand back their tickets, which are then sold on at a discount.

"We want to create the expectation that seats will have people on them," said Ms Jowell. "You can't stop sponsors buying seats, nor should you - but we must maximise the public's chances of seeing the games first-hand."

Ms Jowell was very careful not to criticise China, saying she was very impressed with what she'd seen in Beijing. However she was pointed in what she signalled London could improve: "I saw lots and lots of Chinese people standing outside stadiums, on the wrong part of a perimeter fence, as observers rather than participants. We must reverse that trend and make sure our Olympics are more accessible."

A number of plans have already been flagged to keep London moving. Boris Johnson is exploring a 24-hour-a-day Tube timetable to keep up with the estimated 500,000 extra daily visitors.Museums and galleries, many of which are already free, might also be kept open until midnight to create a cultural and heritage showpiece for the city.

The British Government also announced a new injection of funding for sports in schools in a bid to encourage a "more active nation". The £36m scheme will aim to get all pupils doing at least five hours of sport each week rather than the current two.