Commonwealth Games: Opening Ceremony kicks off with a bang
- Published
The Commonwealth Games kicked off with a bang last night in Birmingham, with a huge opening ceremony. More than 5,000 athletes representing 72 nations and territories are taking part in the Games.
The opening ceremony took place in front of a crowd of around 30,000 people, with lots of dance performances and colourful costumes like this one from drag queen Ginny Lemon, who performed in a hot air balloon in the shape of a lemon!
A slightly weirder performance used giant puppets of local pioneers through the ages, such as Edward Elgar, William Shakespeare and Samuel Johnson... although they weren't particularly flattering.
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall arrived inside the stadium in an Aston Martin as part of a performance. He also read a special message from the Queen calling Birmingham "a pioneering city".
One of the big moments of the opening ceremony was when a huge 10m tall animatronic bull came steaming into the stadium, celebrating the multiculturalism of both Birmingham and the Commonwealth, and representing the industrial ages.
The raging bull was tamed by the ceremony's leading star Stella, who then climbed on top and rode it around the stadium.
There was also a surprise appearance from Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, who became a Birmingham resident after receiving treatment there when she was shot by the Taliban as a teenager in Pakistan. In her speech she emphasised the importance of education and received the biggest cheer of the night.
Olympic champion Tom Daley helped to carry the Queen's baton shortly before the Games were officially declared open.
Then came the part of the ceremony where all the athletes take part in a huge parade. The English athletes walked on to a song from the band Queen.
Northern Ireland won 12 medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and will be looking for more this time.
Micky Yule and Kirsty Gilmour led the Scotland team into the stadium. Athletes tend to wear clothing that reflects the country they are representing during the parade.
Cyclist Geraint Thomas and squash player Tesni Evans carried the Welsh flag during the opening ceremony. This year's event has the largest number of events for women (136) and Para-sport athletes (42) in Games history.