Commonwealth Games: Opening Ceremony (BBC1, 8pm)

FOLOWING the success of the London Olympics in 2012, Glasgow certainly has a lot to live up to, but Clare Balding, who will be on presenting duties for the BBC throughout the event, feels unworried.

"It's amazing how much people are still talking about London 2012 and when they start talking about it they smile," says Balding. "It makes them feel warm inside and I think it showed the best of us as a country. I know that Glasgow will do the same, and the Scottish welcome will be warm and generous and enthusiastic. I just think it is a very good reflection of our ability to organise major events and stage them with humour and a great appreciation of entertainment value, and to do so efficiently and always with the athlete in mind."

She will present coverage of the opening ceremony at Celtic Park, alongside Gary Lineker and Hazel Irvine – Irvine also provides the commentary with Huw Edwards.

The Queen's Baton Relay ends here, and 3,000 volunteers take part in what promises to be a spectacular show. Competitors from 71 nations enter the arena in the Parade of Athletes before the Queen herself officially declares the Games open.

Although most of the action takes place in Glasgow, the diving is being held in Edinburgh, which has hosted the Games twice in the past. One person hoping to make a big splash there this time is Tom Daley.

"He'll be defending his title," explains Balding. "It'll be really interesting for Tom. There's been a lot written about him, people questioning his motivation, his fitness, can he step up there? He's up against Matt Mitcham of Australia, who's his strongest competitor."

Balding will be presenting mostly from the Tollcross International Swimming Centre in Glasgow, and will be keeping her eye on several swimmers, in particular Chad le Clos, the young South African whose father Bert made such an impact on viewers thanks to his emotional interview about his on during the 2012 Olympics.

For the sports-mad, there are 11 days of top-class competition. The less keen on a another British summer of sport will have to count to ten and do some deep breathing exercises.

Emergency Bikers (Channel 5, 8pm)

THE familiar faces of highly-watchable previoys series are joined by bikers from Bristol making a debut – paramedics Rich, Dean and Tom are sure to make their presence felt over the next six weeks. Dean, whose nickname is Wingnut, features heavily in the first programme when he has to fight to get a seriously-ill woman to hospital. His shift gets even more stressful with a call about two people in trouble in the countryside, and finding them proves to be very difficult indeed. In Cornwall, Rob is faced with a problem and needs all his wits about him to solve it. A bulldozer driver has broken his ankle so badly, it may need to be amputated if Rob can't find a way to ease the pressure on the injury.

This Old Thing: The Vintage Clothes Show (Channel 4, 8pm)

WHEN it comes to fashion, Sheffield appear to have nothing more than a couple of vintage footballl teams. However, Dawn O'Porter might be pleasantly surprised by the number of shops that sell her beloved retro-wear, and she'll certainly have to dig deep to find something that impresses local girl Elissa, who is desperate to stand out by wearing clothes that match her lively personality.

Once again, O’Porter has to change the mind of another person who feels “I’m not wearing someone else’s cast-offs”. And it doesn’t help that the attractive host can just about wear anything she likes… while some of her guests of made of sterner stuff.