Commonwealth Games open with a giant bull and a celebration of Brum

The 2022 Commonwealth Games have been declared open in Birmingham, after a spectacular opening ceremony at the Alexander Stadium celebrated the city's history, its people and its music.

The Prince of Wales formally opened the Games on the evening of Thursday 28 July, reading a message from the Queen, in front of a packed stadium and a worldwide television audience.

A giant bull

The centrepiece of the ceremony was a towering animatronic bull, a nod to the Bull Ring, created by the special effects company Artem. The huge mechanical beast, around eight metres tall, quickly became the talk of the night.

The story of a city

The ceremony was produced by a creative team including the Birmingham-born screenwriter Steven Knight, creator of Peaky Blinders, as executive producer, with Iqbal Khan as artistic director.

It opened with a convoy of 72 red, white and blue cars, reflecting the city's car-making heritage, forming the Union flag in the middle of the stadium. The Prince of Wales arrived driving his Aston Martin, accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall.

The national anthem was sung by the mezzo-soprano Samantha Oxborough, a graduate of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, before the Red Arrows flew overhead.

A segment called Everything to Everybody told the story of Birmingham through giant puppets of figures from its past, including Edward Elgar and the Lunar Men. Another, Hear My Voice, celebrated people who have made the city their home, and featured a speech by the Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, who has lived in Birmingham since she was brought to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for treatment in 2012.

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and saxophonist Soweto Kinch were among the performers, and Duran Duran, formed in Birmingham in 1978, closed the show.

The athletes arrive

Thousands of athletes from 72 nations and territories are taking part in the Games, which run until 8 August. Many of them paraded into the stadium during the ceremony, to huge cheers from the crowd, with England, as the host nation, entering last.

The biggest event in the city's history

The Games are the biggest sporting and cultural event ever held in Birmingham, and the first Commonwealth Games in England since Manchester in 2002. Birmingham was named as host in December 2017, after the original host, Durban, was stripped of the event.

Competition begins on Friday across a range of venues, including the Alexander Stadium, Arena Birmingham, the NEC, the new Sandwell Aquatics Centre and Edgbaston, where women's cricket is being played at the Games for the first time. Women's events outnumber men's for the first time in the history of a major multi-sport event.

Council leader Ian Ward has said the Games are about much more than 11 days of sport, with hopes of a lasting boost for the city's economy, its image and the health of its residents. For now, after years of preparation, Birmingham is ready to put on a show.