The 2014 Commonwealth
Games opening ceremony
was held at Celtic Park in
Glasgow

Thousands of athletes from
71 nations and territories
took part before a 40,000-
strong crowd and a global TV
audience up up to one billion
people. Their traditional parade
around the stadium followed
a live show featuring about
2,000 cast members. The Queen declared the
Games open by reading her
own message from inside
the Commonwealth baton. Adventurer Mark Beaumont
landed on the city's river
Clyde in a seaplane carrying
the baton to Celtic Park,
having tracked its progress
across the Commonwealth on a 288-day journey
spanning almost 120,000
miles. Inside the stadium, the baton
was transferred between a
group of volunteers who
have helped children around
Scotland find their potential
through sport. Sir Chris Hoy carried it on its
final stage to Prince Imran of
Malaysia, who struggled
briefly to open the container
and remove the message to
hand to the Queen. Her Majesty then spoke of
the "shared ideals and
ambitions" of the
Commonwealth and
highlighted the "bonds that
unite" the 71 nations and territories. "The baton relay represents a
calling together of people
from every part of the
Commonwealth and serves
as a reminder of our shared
ideals and ambitions as a diverse, resourceful and
cohesive family. "And now, that baton has
arrived here in Glasgow, a
city renowned for its
dynamic cultural and
sporting achievements and
for the warmth of its people, for this opening ceremony of
the Friendly Games." The Queen, in her role as head
of the Commonwealth, then
sent her best wishes to the
competing athletes Events inside the stadium are
being shown to the
assembled guests and crowd
on Europe's largest LED
screen. The giant display, which
stands across the whole of
the stadium's South Stand, is
almost 100 metres long, 11
metres high and weighs 38
tonnes. Other adaptations to the
venue include a specially-
created stage floor covering
the entire pitch and a multi-
coloured walkway
specifically designed for the athlete's parade. Star Wars actor Ewan
McGregor opened
proceedings with a pre-
recorded video message,
before Glaswegian comedian
Karen Dunbar struck up an elaborate song and dance
number celebrating Scotland,
accompanied by Torchwood
star John Barrowman. The routine welcomed
visitors from across the
Commonwealth to Glasgow
and included larger-than-life
representations of famous
Scots inventions, landmarks, cultural heroes and Scottish
history. The Games were officially
opened by The Queen Rod Stewart was joined on
stage by Bishopbriggs singer-
songwriter Amy Macdonald
alongside hundreds of
ordinary Glasgow citizens to
perform a version of his classic song Rhythm of My
Heart. Later in the ceremony,
dancers from Scottish Ballet
performed a routine to an
acoustic version of The
Proclaimers hit I'm Gonna Be
(500 Miles). Pipe band The Scottish Regiment Pipe
Band arrived in the stadium
to accompany Susan Boyle
performing the Paul
McCartney and Wings song
Mull of Kintyre, as the Red Arrows performed a flypast
over the city to signal the
arrival of the Queen and the
Duke of Edinburgh. India, the hosts of the
previous Games in Delhi in
2010, were the first team to
enter the arena and received
a warm welcome. The remainder of the
competing nations arrived
according to geographical
region, led by a Scots
representative wearing
tweeds and walking a Scottie terrier bedecked in a
jacket bearing the name of
each country. The England team were met
by loud cheers from the
crowd as the European
nations entered the stadium,
Northern Ireland were led
by cyclist Martyn Irvine and the Wales team sported
black Harrington-style
jackets with tartan lining. The loudest reception of the
night was reserved for the
host nation Scotland, who
paraded into Celtic Park last,
according to Games tradition,
accompanied by The Shamen's hit Move Any
Mountain. Towards the end of the
ceremony a message was
delivered live from the
International Space Station
to the Commonwealth
nations, and Scots musician Nicola Benedetti performed a
violin solo as the Games
Federation flag was raised. Scotland's First Minister Alex
Salmond paid tribute to the
victims of the crashed
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17,
leading a silence before
welcoming the participating nations to the Games in
English and Gaelic. The sentiments were echoed
by Glasgow City Council
leader Gordon Matheson and
the Commonwealth Games
Federation president Prince
Imran of Malaysia, who both encouraged and promoted a
spirit of competitiveness and
friendship. Glasgow band Primal Scream
closed proceedings as
fireworks went off all across
the city. Temperatures in Glasgow
earlier reached 25 degrees C,
officially the hottest day in
Scotland this year. The Games will feature 17
sports across 11 days of
competition, beginning on
Thursday. The closing ceremony will
take place at Hampden Park
on the south side of the city,
which has been transformed
into an athletics venue, on 3
August.