| REDUCE | Lose weight concerning dubious beginnings on the opening ceremony |
| POSH | Swanky from poor beginnings on the southern hemisphere |
| NERD | An idiot from new beginnings on a thoroughfare |
| NEWYEAR | Chinese --- ---, festival beginning on the day of the New Moon that appears between January 21 and February 20 (3,4) |
| TREASUREISLAND | Tale of Jim Hawkins' adventures beginning on the "Hispaniola" |
| CATCHMENT | Go down with workers beginning on the river basin |
| ONSET | Beginning on the TV production site |
| EIGHTPM | Prime time's beginning, on the East Coast |
| PESACH | Observance beginning on the 15th of Nisan |
| SAUCE | Impudence beginning on the radio (5) |
| SUKKOTH | Eight-day Jewish harvest festival beginning on the 15th day of Tishri (7) |
| PASSOVER | Seven- or eight-day Jewish spring festival beginning on the 15th of Nisan; also called Pesach (8) |
| TORCH | Secret of Olympic proportions: It isn't until the opening ceremony of the Games that the world discovers who will carry the ___ |
| MUSIC | "If - be the food of love, play on..." - the opening line in Twelfth Night (5) |
| BEE | Attracted to white, yellow, purple and blue flowers because of their ultraviolet properties, an insect depicted on the opening credits of The Good Life (3) |
| LIGHT | Fairy -; one of a series of illuminations strung together as a decoration, used to adorn the dresses of principal fairies on the opening night of G&S's Iolanthe (5) |
| JUMPY | Nervous as the star performer on the opening night of a flea circus? (5) |
| SALAH | Who recently broke the record for scoring most goals on the opening day of English Premier League football? (5) |
| MOHAMED | Who recently broke the record for scoring most goals on the opening day of English Premier League football? (5) |
| EVENT | Level on the opening occasion (5) |
