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Games off to stunning start

Sir Steve Redgrave bangs the ceremonial drum from Kuala Lumpur

An awe-inspiring fusion of noise and colour shook every inch of the City of Manchester stadium as the 17th Commonwealth Games came off the starting blocks in fine style. Her Majesty The Queen started the biggest sporting party the United Kingdom has ever seen at the breathtaking Opening Ceremony at the showpiece City of Manchester Stadium.

The sound of the ceremonial drum, a gift from Kuala Lumpur 1998, being struck signalled the start of events as the cast of thousands streamed onto the field of play as 48 search lights shot their beams high into the sky.

Darren Campbell carries the English flag

Next to arrive in the Stadium were the dignitaries, chauffeured in a cortege of traditional black taxis and introduced individually to the 38,000 spectators. With the honoured guests in their seats pop sensations S Club performed their number one hit ‘Don’t Stop Movin’ to get the disco-themed night well and truly underway.

The riotous mixture of rhythm, dance and pure theatre truly barraged the senses as athletes, dignitaries and people of the Commonwealth watched rapt as the meticulously engineered spectacle climaxed with the Queen accepting the Jubilee Baton and declaring the games underway.

The baton arrives carried beneath a giant balloon.

As the eyes of the world looked on the athletes of 72 nations paraded into the stadium – many hardly able to contain their excitement at the enormity of the occasion. As the athletes completed their circuit of the track, Mancunian best-selling operatic artist Russell Watson belted out “Where my heart will take me” as a tribute to the athletes before local swimmer James Hickman read out the Athlete’s Oath on behalf of all the competing athletes

Now it was time for the Jubilee Baton to finally arrive after its epic journey around the world, and in one of the most spectacular moments of the performance, every member of the audience shone a flashlight onto the arena as the Baton was carried into the Stadium by a gymnast suspended under a giant balloon to the strains of haunting music. Olympic gold medal-winning heptathlete Denise Lewis was the first to receive the baton on the ground. She handed it to other superstars of sport who carried it on a final lap of the field. These included Donovan Bailey, Ellen MacArthur, Moses Kiptanui, Susie O’Neill and Sir Steve Redgrave.

Kirsty Howard and David Beckham hand the Baton to the Queen

Football star David Beckham ran the penultimate leg before handing over to brave terminally-ill fundraiser six-year-old Kirsty Howard. Hand-in-hand the pair presented the baton to the monarch who congratulated the Games organisers and said she looked forward to 10 days of sporting excellence before declaring the Games open.

A 21-gun salute sounded as the athletes left the Stadium to prepare for competition. United Colours of Sound sang the Baton anthem, “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now” and the stage was set for the grand finale. 

A hush descended as amazing psychedelic images were projected onto the field and the stunning end of the show began. Titled ‘The Spirit of Manchester', the story began with a tale of ordinary Mancunians on their way to work before casting off the pressures of everyday life and showing that Manchester truly knows how to party.

Stunning Fireworks

The Red Arrows Fly By