Melbourne: It's Magic in Melbourne as the greatest sporting spectacle of this year got underway. Queen Elizabeth declared the 18th Commonwealth Games open at the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The Queen acknowledged the cheers of the crowd before returning to her seat, setting the stage for twelve days of intense competitions.
A crowd of 80,000 people inside the Melbourne Cricket Ground, as well as thousands of others along the banks of the Yarra River, watched the two and a half hour event.
A flotilla of giant fishing sculptures, a psychedelic fireworks show traveling along the riverbanks, what a stage indeed for all the 4500 athletes from 71 nations who are there for the Games.
The soundtrack to the event, a completely new Australian work, was played live by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. A flying tram came down into the middle of the MCG with dancers and acrobats inside.
A record 4,500 competitors will take part from 71 countries. The Games are the 18th in total and fourth to be staged in Australia, following Sydney (1938), Perth (1962) and Brisbane (1982).
After the formalities of hoisting the flags and introducing the dignitaries, the opening ceremony began with a cultural programme on diverse themes related to the country's heritage.
The march past for the 71 participating countries began with England walking onto the arena first and hosts Australia bringing up the rear.
A vociferous roar greeted the large Australian contingent as it made a grand entry much to the jubilation of the capacity crowd.
The Indians, who will host the 2010 Commonwealth Games, also received a loud applause as they walked onto the middle with Olympic silver medallist shooter R S Rathore being the flag bearer.
The Indian men, attired in white, tastefully embroidered sherwanis and yellow turbans and the sari-clad women athletes waved to the spectators as they took a round of the magnificent stadium.
The Indians, who had finished with a rich haul of 69 medals in the Manchester Games in 2002, will take part in ten disciplines with medal prospects in shooting, weightlifting and athletics.
With PTI inputs
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