Queen Elizabeth II declares London Games open (Lead)
July 28th, 2012 - 6:34 am ICT by IANSLondon, July 28 (IANS) British Queen Elizabeth II declared the London Olympics officially open early Saturday morning at a spectacular opening ceremony directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Danny Boyle.
Queen Elizabeth II’s announcement was made before an estimated global television audience of one billion and a crowd of 80,000 in the Olympic Stadium, reports Xinhua.
London is the first city to stage three Olympic Games, after the 1908 and 1948 Summer Olympics.
Under the slogan “Inspire a Generation,” this year’s Games will also be recorded as the first in which all participating delegations have female athletes.
Brunei, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have included women for the first time, and Qatar has named female shooter Bahiya al-Hamad as its flag-bearer.
More than 10,500 athletes from all 204 countries will compete in 26 sports.
- Sushil Kumar named India's flag-bearer at London Olympics (Lead) - Jul 15, 2012
- Al Hamad becomes first female Qatar Olympian - Jul 28, 2012
- Olympic rings launched on Thames - Feb 29, 2012
- Spectacular, innovative opening to 2012 London Olympics (Second Lead) - Jul 28, 2012
- Olympics: Queen 'Bonds' with Craig at opening ceremony - Jul 28, 2012
- Record number of free condoms for Olympians (Olympic diary) - Aug 02, 2012
- Olympic flame lit in Greece (Lead) - May 10, 2012
- China plays down expectations for dominance at Olympics - Jul 26, 2012
- Woman power at London Games (Olympic diary) - Aug 07, 2012
- Olympics: India on a medal count - Jul 27, 2012
- Sushil Kumar to be India's flag bearer at Olympics - Jul 15, 2012
- Running in Olympics is like wining gold for Afghan girl - Aug 04, 2012
- Abhinav Bindra to carry tricolour during Commonwealth Games opening ceremony - Oct 01, 2010
- Asian Games: Narang battles fatigue to carry Indian flag (Lead) - Nov 12, 2010
- School children create largest human London 2012 Logo - Apr 25, 2012
Tags: al hamad, audience of one, british queen, danny boyle, elizabeth ii, female athletes, flag bearer, global television audience, london games, london olympics, olympic games, olympic stadium, one billion, opening ceremony, queen elizabeth, queen elizabeth ii, s games, saudi arabia, summer olympics, xinhua