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Chair of the British Olympic Association and former Lord Sebastian Coe says: "It's not going to be like the Olympics. Glasgow 2014 is going to be different from London 2012.

"Glasgow has benefitted from having a world-class organising committee, though, and some who worked on London went on to work on Glasgow.

"One of the similarities is that the part of Glasgow it will be held in, like London, is an important area for regeneration and will be a vastly different place than it was before the Games."

The last Commonwealth games to take place on these shores was Manchester 2002.

The legacy of those games, along with the Abu Dhabi millions poured into Manchester City, have helped regenerated the east end of Manchester.

"Those 10 days of the Commonwealth Games showed a new vibrant modern Manchester that was not necessarily the perception many people had of the city," said assistant chief executive of Manchester City Council Vicky Rosin.

Image source, Kelly Holmes

Dame Kelly Holmes tweets:, external Very exciting waiting for the opening ceremony at pitch side @Glasgow2014."

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The last time Scotland hosted the Commonwealth Games, in Edinburgh in 1986, the hosts had not won an athletics gold by the time the final day of competition arrived. Then an unheralded Dundonian cantered to victory in the 10,000m.

Her name was Liz Lynch and, over the couple of weeks, her daughter Eilish McColgan will represent Scotland in the steeplechase.

Other sporting highlights from a Games blighted by boycotts was a young Steve Cram romping to victory for England in the 800m, boxer Lennox Lewis winning gold for Canada in the super-heavyweight division, rower Steve Redgrave topping the podium on three separate occasions and Ben Johnson streaking to victory for Canada in the 100m.

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Former Great Britain freestyle swimmer Karen Pickering: "All four Commonwealth Games I competed in I only managed to go to one opening ceremony.

"I was lucky that it was Manchester in 2002 so I got to experience of walking out a home Games. I'm sure the Scottish athletes here tonight will also have that special feeling."

Aimee Lewis
BBC Sport at the opening ceremony in Glasgow

"How far would you travel to see a 20ft kilt? 'We've travelled 3,500 miles to be here,' says Denny Carty, who grew up in St Kitts but lives in the UAE. ( I should add that the 59-year-old didn't know anything about a giant kilt being part of the opening ceremony when he bought his tickets.) 'Glasgow is one of the greatest cities in the world,' he says, waving a St Kitts flag. Denny is here with Brenda Dixon, a Glaswegian, and the couple have managed to get tickets for the Rugby Sevens. A fine choice."

Katarina Johnson-Thompson has had a go on our interactive feature which works out what Commonwealth Games discipline would suit you.

As in many other cases, the predictor is accurate, but the 21-year-old is not too familiar with judo, which came out as her second-best fit.

She tweets:, external "Pretty much on the money for the first one.... but judo? Really..."

Have a go of the predictor yourself and see if your height, aggression and personality suit a particular sport.

Back in the 1990s the Australian Institute of Sport did some revolutionary work, taking athletes from one sport and reassigning them to another based on their physical and psychological attributes.

The theory was while you might be wasting your time not quite achieving the top level in one sport, when you might be ideally suited to another.

No need to book a trip down under to find out if your dreams have been spiked by endless games of playground footy when you should have been trying to get a class lawn bowls match going.

Instead head over to the BBC's online test that will tell you what sport is your best route to glory.

I have ordered a wrestling onesie and am weighing up whether to change my middle name to either "the machine" or the "the mauler".

Victoria Pendleton
Double Olympic champion and BBC Sport cycling expert on the One Show:

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"I'm really excited to watch the sports and soak up the atmosphere without the pressure of competing. I started my career in Manchester at the Commonwealth Games. Melbourne was the first success of my career so the Games have been a real stepping stone."

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He may only be competing in the 4x100m relay, but six-time Olympic champion sprinter Usain Bolt's presence is quite a coup for Glasgow. This is the Jamaican's first appearance at the Commonwealth Games.

David Rudisha's gold medal-winning, world record-breaking display in London 2012 left people purring and it is sure to garner him plenty of attention in Glasgow, where he will be the man to beat in the 800m.

Arguably the strongest favourite across the whole Commonwealth Games is Valerie Adams, who will compete in the shot put for New Zealand. She is pretty much invincible, as four World Championship titles, two Olympic and two Commonwealth golds testify.

Image source, @Lewisb64

Team Scotland boxer Lewis Benson has tweeted:, external "Ready for the opening ceremony, everything is real now! #Proud #TrueScotsman."

The biggest star in the sporting sky is Usain Bolt. The Jamaican living legend is hampered by foot and hamstring surgery but will run in the 4x100m relay.

Mo Farah wants another a double shot of glory. After his intoxicating 5,000m and 10,000m Olympic double, the Londoner is aiming for a repeat at the Commonwealths.

England's historic Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins is back for a spin in the velodrome, taking part in the team pursuit.

You can get the full schedule for the whole Commonwealths on the BBC Sport website.

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Glaswegian comedian Billy Connolly: "I'm looking forward to going to the velodrome to watch the cycling. Those guys have ridiculous thighs, they are almost frog-shaped people!

"We can be a cynical bunch but the Commonwealth Games have been embraced in Glasgow and its people which is lovely to see."

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As well as large-scale demolition jobs, there will be some big sporting names missing from the Games' opening ceremony.

Isle of Man cyclist Mark Cavendish had a disagreement with the Harrogate tarmac.

England's Jessica Ennis-Hill is juggling the demands of young son Reggie rather than the seven events of the heptathlon.

Wales' Becky James is nursing a knee injury.

But there is plenty of stardust to add glitter to Glasgow.

Aimee Lewis
BBC Sport at the opening ceremony in Glasgow

"Plenty of familiar faces to be seen in the corridors of Celtic Park. Huw Edwards is sipping a beverage, while former France rugby union international Sebastian Chabal is deliberating in the hot food section of hospitality. The celebrity magazines would pay a fortune for this sort of information."

British six-time Paralympic wheelchair champion David Weir on the One Show:

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"I feel like I've achieved some massive goals but there are still little ones that keep me going, like the Commonwealth Games. To win a medal for England would be a dream come true, not as a disabled athlete but just as an athlete."

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One of the central features of the Glasgow opening ceremony was going to be the demolition of five of the six Red Road tower blocks that have dominated the city's north-east skyline since the late sixties.

"By sharing the blow down with the rest of the world, I hope it will be seen as the noble, respectful and celebratory send-off that it is intended to be," said Glasgow 2014 artistic director David Zolkwer., external

More than 17,000 people signed a petition suggesting that "blowing up homes for entertainment" was not noble, respectful or celebratory., external

Safety and security concerns meant the plan was shelved.

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Former Great Britain decathlete Daley Thompson: "The Commonwealth Games were another chance to compete on the world stage and for a medal. They were huge for me.

"The competition means a lot, but perhaps you only get serious about it a day or two before. Maybe the Olympics you are thinking years about it.

"But I think a lot of people don't give the Commonwealth Games enough credit. Even though it's the friendly games everyone wants to win."

We'll also open the doors for your favourite opening ceremony moments from across sporting history. Here is the jetpack that stole the show at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic curtain-raiser to get your creative juices flowing.

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Suggestions for others are welcome on the same contact details as below.

So which events have you scribbled an asterisk next to over the next 11 days?

The pyrotechnics on the athletics track are an obvious place to start, but where are the hidden gems tucked away in the schedule? Here's my nudge and wink for you. Rugby sevens.

Two years before their Olympic debut in Rio, the southern hemisphere big three - New Zealand, Australia and South Africa - along with England, Wales, Scotland, Samoa and Tonga, knocking bits of each other at Ibrox Stadium?

Where do I sign?

Your hot ticket tips are welcome on 81111 on text, #bbcglasgow2014, external on Twitter, BBC Sport on Facebook , externaland Google+., external