LONDON (Reuters) – The eagerly awaited opening ceremony to the 2012 Olympic Games kicked off on Friday with a mass countdown and the chime of a giant bell, ushering in an eccentric and exuberant celebration of British history, art and culture.

Some 60,000 spectators crowded into the state-of-the-art arena at the Olympic Park, built in a previously run-down area of the city’s East End, and over a billion more people tuned in around the world for the three-hour extravaganza.

LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) – The world’s spotlight turned to
London’s Olympic Stadium on Friday where the opening ceremony
kick starts the 2012 Games with an eccentric and exuberant
celebration of British history, art and culture.

Thousands of people began to file into the state-of-the-art
arena in the Olympic Park, a sprawling network of sporting
venues, athletes’ accommodation, media centres and restaurants
built in a previously run-down area of London’s East End.

LONDON (Reuters) – The world’s spotlight turned to London’s Olympic Stadium on Friday where the opening ceremony kick starts the 2012 Games with an eccentric and exuberant celebration of British history, art and culture.

Huge crowds flocked to the state-of-the-art arena in the Olympic Park, a sprawling network of sporting venues, athletes’ accommodation, media centers and restaurants built in a previously run-down area of London’s East End.

LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) – The world’s spotlight turned to
London’s Olympic Stadium on Friday where the opening ceremony
kick starts the 2012 Games with an eccentric and exuberant
celebration of British history, art and culture.

Huge crowds flocked to the state-of-the-art arena in the
Olympic Park, a sprawling network of sporting venues, athletes’
accommodation, media centres and restaurants built in a
previously run-down area of London’s East End.

LONDON (Reuters) – Bells rang across Britain on Friday to signal the final countdown to the Olympic Games, which open with an exuberant and eccentric ceremony celebrating the nation in an explosion of dance, music and fireworks inspired by Shakespeare’s “Tempest”.

The three-hour showcase created by Oscar-winning “Slumdog Millionaire” director Danny Boyle takes spectators on a journey from Britain’s idyllic countryside through the grime of the Industrial Revolution and ending in an explosion of pop culture.

LONDON (Reuters) – Bells rang out across Britain on Friday to signal the final countdown to the Olympic Games, which open with an exuberant and eccentric ceremony celebrating the nation in an explosion of dance, music and fireworks inspired by Shakespeare’s “Tempest”.

The three-hour showcase created by Oscar-winning “Slumdog Millionaire” director Danny Boyle takes spectators on a journey from Britain’s idyllic countryside through the grime of the Industrial Revolution and ending in an explosion of pop culture.

LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) – Bells rang out across Britain on
Friday to signal the final countdown to the Olympic Games, which
open with an exuberant and eccentric ceremony celebrating the
nation in an explosion of dance, music and fireworks inspired by
Shakespeare’s “Tempest”.

The three-hour showcase created by Oscar-winning “Slumdog
Millionaire” director Danny Boyle takes spectators on a journey
from Britain’s idyllic countryside through the grime of the
Industrial Revolution and ending in an explosion of pop culture.

LONDON (Reuters) – All eyes turn to London on Friday for the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics, an exuberant journey from Britain’s idyllic pastures through the grime of the Industrial Revolution and ending in a contemporary world dominated by popular culture.

The three-hour showcase created by Oscar-winning “Slumdog Millionaire” director Danny Boyle will be watched by a crowd of 60,000 in the main stadium built in a run-down area of London’s East End and a global audience of more than a billion.

LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) – All eyes turn to London on
Friday for the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics, an
exuberant journey from Britain’s idyllic pastures through the
grime of the Industrial Revolution and ending in a contemporary
world dominated by popular culture.

The three-hour showcase created by Oscar-winning “Slumdog
Millionaire” director Danny Boyle will be watched by a crowd of
60,000 in the main stadium built in a run-down area of London’s
East End and a global audience of more than a billion.

CARDIFF/LONDON (Reuters) – The first day of sporting action at the London Olympics turned into an embarrassing own goal for organizers on Wednesday when the South Korean flag was mistakenly displayed before its sworn enemy North Korea’s women’s soccer match against Colombia.

The error prompted the North Korean team to walk off the field and caused a delay of more than an hour before the game, played in the Scottish city of Glasgow, eventually started.