From driving dignitaries to appearing in the opening ceremony, students from the University of East Anglia will be involved in many aspects of the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer.

Three UEA students will be demonstrating their skills by performing in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games this Friday.

Biomedicine student Beverley Brierley will be dancing in the ceremony, while Evie Forster, a first year international development student, will also be performing.

Haydn Wiseman, who is studying for a postgraduate degree in mathematics, will participate in the tumbling and gymnastics sections of both the opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics.

While physiotherapy student Ian Scott will be putting his degree to good use as a massage therapist at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Rebekah Hammett, a second year development student, will be acting as a driver and personal assistant to a dignitary or official at the Olympics, while Helen Marimaris will be a 'flash quote reporter' at the Paralympics, getting comments from the athletes as they finish competing in their events.

A number of students will also be involved in the logistical side of the Games. Sport student Abigail Diss is going to volunteer in the command, control and communications department at Wembley Arena, while Shanshan Xu, an economics undergraduate, and Peter Kerrison, who is studying environmental science, will both be involved in co-ordinating aspects of transport.

Students Kim Nommesch, Bintu Foday and Li Yang are all volunteering in the Olympic event service team, and first year Hannah Ward will act as a 'wayfinder' at the Paralympics, directing spectators at the ExCel Centre in London.

Two students have also managed to secure paid employment at the games. Lucindy Acheampomaa will work as a housekeeper in the Olympic village, and Lucy Williams will work throughout the summer in the administrative transport team.