(Glasgow) – The 2014 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony has taken place 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 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.
