By Stephen Wright in LondonZander Kirkland will carry Bermuda’s flag at tonight’s opening ceremony at the request of his brother Jesse who turned down the opportunity in a true display of Olympic spirit.Sailor Jesse had been chosen to lead out Team Bermuda in the athletes’ parade in front of 80,000 spectators at the Olympic Stadium and more than a billion TV viewers worldwide.But in a touching tribute to his sailing sibling, Jesse told the Bermuda Olympic Association (BOA) he would prefer to see his older brother receive that honour at the glitzy opener in London.BOA Chef de Mission Stan Douglas said: "I can announce that the Bermuda Olympic Association have selected Zander Kirkland to be the flag bearer for Team Bermuda."Initially it was decided that Jesse, as the sailing team skipper, should carry the flag but he told the BOA he would prefer to see Zander perform that honour as he was older than him."Zander, 29, and Jesse, 24, qualified for the Olympics after producing a top ten finish at the 49er World Championships in Croatia in May.The duo arrived in the UK well ahead of the Games to step up their preparations in Weymouth where the sailing events will be held.Douglas said triathletes Flora Duffy and Tyler Butterfield, who also enjoyed strong qualifying campaigns, would have been considered to carry the flag had they been in the capital.Duffy and Butterfield are scheduled to touch down in London next week.“We went through the list of athletes who are here in London and based our decision on how well they qualified,” said Douglas.“Flora Duffy and Tyler Butterfield would have come into the reckoning but neither has arrived in London as they are still preparing for their events from overseas.”Equestrian Jill Terceira was bestowed with the honour of carrying the Island’s flag at the Beijing Olympics four years ago.Terceira, who will compete in the individual showjumping event, is due to arrive in London today.The countdown for London 2012 is well underway, and the anticipation is growing ahead of the opening ceremony which promises to be unforgettable.However, Douglas insisted there was no danger of Bermuda's athletes becoming distracted and losing focus despite the buzz surrounding tonight's curtain-raiser.“Sure, everyone is excited about the opening ceremony but I think our athletes just want get the whole thing started now,” he said.“The athletes who are already here have settled in very well at the Olympic Village and are focused on making Bermuda proud.”Swimmer Roy-Allan Burch is Bermuda's first athlete in action next Thursday, although Jenaya Wade-Fray is expected to play for Great Britain women’s basketball team against Australia tomorrow night.Filmmaker Danny Boyle was put in charge of the opening ceremony, which is titled “Isles of Wonder." Boyle is famous for his Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire and also nominated for two Oscars for his writing and directing in 127 Hours.It’s understood the opening ceremony Boyle put together for the London 2012 cost a whopping $42 million.