The history of Britain was recounted in an artful yet glamorous fashion as the 17-day greatest show on Earth was unveiled on Friday.
The four-hour spectacle produced by Danny Boyle truly bore the hallmark of an Oscar-winning film director and a fine specimen of today's digital production techniques.
What would otherwise have passed as a multimedia presentation of a comprehensive history lesson was sold to the world as the Opening Ceremony of the July 27-August 12 Olympic Games, which London is hosting for an unprecedented third time.
The 10000-volunteer show cost £ 27 million, required months of rehearsing and surely showcasued the best of Britain and its contributions to the world.
Queen Elizabeth, in presence of 100 heads of state or government, declared the £ 14 billion Games, Europe's biggest project to date, open. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, flanked by son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, was all smiles when the five-strong Bangladesh contingent of athletes marched past.
The Queen, celebrating her Diamond Jubilee as monarch this year, became the only head of state in history to open two Games, the previous one being in 1976 in Montreal as the Queen of Canada.
In 1948, her father King George VI opened the most austere Games in history when the athletes were told to bring their own towels. Her grandfather kicked off the 1908 edition.
An estimated one billion people watched the show on Internet and TV across the world.
There were Shakespeare and Dickens, brutal uprooting of rural Britain, chaos of Industrial Revolution, a reminder of Brunel's wonders, the colourful 1960s when the Beatles ruled, the British scientist Tim Berners Lee who invented the world wide web, the Mr Bean-famed Rowan Atkinson, the much-known 12-year-old cancer patient, the now-famous Afghan war veteran and the young defined by the digital revolution of the past two decades.
What would otherwise have passed as a multimedia presentation of a comprehensive history lesson was sold to the world as the Opening Ceremony of the July 27-August 12 Olympic Games, which London is hosting for an unprecedented third time.
The 10000-volunteer show cost £ 27 million, required months of rehearsing and surely showcasued the best of Britain and its contributions to the world.
Queen Elizabeth, in presence of 100 heads of state or government, declared the £ 14 billion Games, Europe's biggest project to date, open. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, flanked by son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, was all smiles when the five-strong Bangladesh contingent of athletes marched past.
The Queen, celebrating her Diamond Jubilee as monarch this year, became the only head of state in history to open two Games, the previous one being in 1976 in Montreal as the Queen of Canada.
In 1948, her father King George VI opened the most austere Games in history when the athletes were told to bring their own towels. Her grandfather kicked off the 1908 edition.
An estimated one billion people watched the show on Internet and TV across the world.
There were Shakespeare and Dickens, brutal uprooting of rural Britain, chaos of Industrial Revolution, a reminder of Brunel's wonders, the colourful 1960s when the Beatles ruled, the British scientist Tim Berners Lee who invented the world wide web, the Mr Bean-famed Rowan Atkinson, the much-known 12-year-old cancer patient, the now-famous Afghan war veteran and the young defined by the digital revolution of the past two decades.
