London — The Queen of UK made her acting debut as she dropped in with James Bond for the spectacular opening ceremony of the 30th Olympiad in London. The scene as reported by the English Star was filmed weeks ago but aired for the first time, 007 superstar Daniel Craig was shown arriving at Buckingham Palace in a trademark dinner jacket, striding past the corgis towards the royal study.

"Good evening Mr Bond," the Queen said, before leaving with him by helicopter for a flight across London towards the Olympic Stadium. And the helicopter was seen to hover above the stadium before a stunt double "Queen" followed by "Bond", parachuted into the arena. And moments later the real Queen and Prince Philip entered the stadium to a standing ovation.

It was part of a dramatic start of a breathtaking ceremony capturing the best of Britain, which was both moving and funny. Tour de France hero Bradley Wiggins rang a giant bell which marked the beginning. Wearing a yellow jersey Wiggins, who less than a week ago became the first British man to win the Tour, was greeted with cheers at the Olympic Park.

The show then started simply with the stadium turned into a meadow, a green and pleasant land. Some details of the Bond stunt had emerged in advance of the £27 million opening ceremony - the brainchild of Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle. But the Queen's role - played to perfection and showing her fun side - still left the audience awe-struck and laughing with delight, both in the stadium and around the world.

The Queen made herself more accessible than ever before," Boyle said earlier.In another surprise, Rowan Atkinson in his Mr Bean character created comic havoc as Sir Simon Rattle conducted the theme from Chariots of Fire.After the Bond coup de theatre, prime ministers, presidents, US First Lady Michelle Obama, International Olympic Committee executives and spectators stood as the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh accompanied IOC president Jacques Rogge into the stadium.

Following brief speeches, the Queen declared the 30th Olympiad officially open. David Beckham sailed a high powered speedboat down the Thames to deliver the Olympic flame - which was passed on to Steve Redgrave, the only Olympian to have won a gold medal at five consecutive Olympic Games, who carried the torch into the stadium.

From there it was passed on to seven young athletes, nominated by Olympic greats - and it was the promising young athletes, representing the future, who lit the Olympic cauldron. Athletes from all over the world had paraded into the stadium. The Gambian flag was paraded inside the 80,000 capacity stadium by Suwaibou Sanneh who holds the country's best chance of a medal in the Games.

Suwaibou was joined in the Gambian march past in their traditional Green African 'Abaya' by compatriots Saruba Colley, GAA President Dodou Capi Joof, Coach Bamba Njie, Team Manager Momodou Demba and its Australian kids provider Ashley. The host Team GB flag-bearer was Chris Hoy, who won three gold medals in Beijing 2008- the most successful Olympic male cyclist of all time.

Greece began the march past to honour the birthplace of the Olympics, followed by teams from the rest of the world in alphabetic order, with the exception of the Host Nation -Team GB- who concluded the parade.

Danny Boyle's "bloody brilliant" opening ceremony was hailed as a triumph. The event, which featured a diverse cast including James Bond star Daniel Craig and JK Rowling, merged music, dance and special effects into a spectacular opening.

The world-wide audience was treated to a greatest hits medley of British pop over the decades with bursts of the Beatles, the Jam, Sex Pistols and Dizzee Rascal. There were also excerpts from the Kinks, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Mud's Tiger Feet before Emile Sande sang the cup final classic Abide With Me.

In a speech watched around the world, Games chief Jacques Rogge said: "The Olympic Games are coming home tonight."The ceremony also celebrated the National Health Service by featuring a cast of more than 1,000 volunteers recruited from hospitals across the country, including Great Ormond Street children's hospital in London.

All the action was played out to a soundtrack of some of Britain's most iconic bands - including the Clash, the Rolling Stones, Queen, the Sex Pistols and David Bowie - with Sir Paul McCartney performing live at the close of the show.