Paralympic Games 'return home' to UK with a spectacular Big Bang
The London 2012 Paralympic Games opened with a dramatic and moving ceremony that had starring roles for the Queen, Professor Stephen Hawking - and a double amputee Afghan war veteran who rode a zip wire into the Olympic Stadium.
The spectacular ceremony featured thousands of entertainers and athletes from across the world.
In another ceremony that showed the world Britain's creativity, and celebrated the history of disability rights, there were stunning moments, including a sign language choir performing the national anthem and a section in which six Paralympians led by Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson were flown into the stadium in gold wheelchairs.
The ceremony heralded the start of 11 days of elite sporting action featuring athletes from across the world. The London 2012 Paralympics will see more athletes compete than ever before, in front sell-out crowds.
The games are set to be the most successful Paralympic Games in history.
Prof Hawking and actor Sir Ian McKellen played prominent roles in the opening ceremony, which also featured a host of deaf and disabled artists, local children and performers newly-trained in circus skills.
The Games were officially opened by the Queen, who said in a statement released in advance:
Prof Hawking said the Paralympic Games were about changing our perception of reality, and inspiring us to "look at the stars" in stead of "down at our feet."
The packed Olympic Stadium and millions more across the world watched as Joe Townsend, 24, who lost both legs as a Royal Marine in Afghanistan, flew in on a zip wire to start the sequence that lit the Paralympic cauldron.
After his breathtaking descent he handed the flame to David Clarke, a member of the ParlympicsGB five-a-side football team, who in turn passed it to Margaret Maughan, winner of Great Britain's first Paralympic gold medal at the 1960 Rome Games, who lit the cauldron.
The Paralymic Games trace their origin back to London in 1948 and Locog chairman Lord Coe told the audience: