The 18th Commonwealth Games opened in a blaze of colour and royal pageantry at the Melbourne Cricket Ground today.
In keeping with tradition, the British queen officially declared the Games open after receiving the baton from the final relay runner, Victorian state governor John Landy, the second man to run a mile in less than four minutes.
"Tonight we celebrate the value of sport as a means of bringing together people of 71 nations and territories, and from a wide range of cultures, traditions and beliefs," Queen Elizabeth said. "It gives me the greatest pleasure to declare the 18th Commonwealth Games open."
About 80,000 spectators had crammed into the grand stadium for a two-and-a-half hour, multi-million-dollar production that ushered the Games into Australia's second largest city. Thousands more people lined the banks of the nearby Yarra River, where a flotilla of illuminated surfboats and rainbow coloured barges sailed by.
The ceremony marked the start of 11 days of competition with the Games featuring 16 sports, including lawn bowls, netball and squash, that represent the eclectic range of interests in the commonwealth.
Sonia O'Sullivan, who has dual nationality, is set to represent Australia in the 5,000 metres.