LONDON OLYMPICS OPEN – Queen Parachutes Into Stadium James Bond Style (Video)

Daily Mail Olympic Highlights (more photos at site):

• Sir Steve Redgrave carries the Olympic torch into the Stadium, after David Beckham accompanied it into Stratford on a speedboat
• Seven young athletes then light the cauldron
• Breathtaking firework display lights up the sky above east London
• Queen makes spectacular appearance in simulated helicopter arrival with James Bond star Daniel Craig
• Monarch tells the world: ‘I declare open the Games of London, celebrating the 30th Olympiad of the modern era’
• Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins started the Opening Ceremony by ringing the giant Olympic Bell
• Rowan Atkinson joins the orchestra as Mr. Bean for a comedy skit
• Sir Kenneth Branagh reads from Shakespeare’s The Tempest
• Dizzee Rascal and Emeli Sande perform
• The audience have been handed 3D glasses and every seat has a magic wand with it
• Red Arrows fly past the stadium leaving trail of red, white and blue vapor at 20:12 exactly
• Danny Boyle tweets ‘Proud to be British’
• McCartney Closes the Evening
• For Americans… Our 529 athletes looked great, even if the our uniforms were made in China and GOP Candidate and the man who stepped in and rescued the Utah Winter Olympics for America, Mitt Romney and his wife Ann, were at the ceremony.  Muhammad Ali was also included in the Opening Ceremonies. And everyone looked like they were having a great time and received cheers from the crowd…
• Spectacular Fireworks!

The London Olympics Opening Ceremony was quirky, fun, loud, and very British. 

The Queen in her screen acting debut as a James Bond girl was certainly an opening ceremony first. Rowan Atkinson ran with the lads from Chariots of Fire. Harry Potter, William Shakespeare, Mary Poppins and Paul McCartney… Bicycles made up to be doves, David Beckham motor boated in with the Olympic torch and Muhammad Ali holding the Olympic flag.

And in the end, the flame was lit not by a famous face but seven young people, igniting 204 copper petals — one for each country — that converged into a burning flower of Olympic best wishes and hopes.

Side notes: 81 of the 204 countries represented have never won a medal at any Olympic Games, but they are happy just to take part. One of the trap shooters from the Country of Andorra is 61-years old.

THE QUEEN PARACHUTES IN

Video: Opening Ceremony 2012 | Queen Elizabeth II Skydiving with James Bond (Daniel Craig)

Mitt Romney and his wife Ann spent their final night together in London watching Friday’s Opening Ceremonies for the 2012 Olympic Games.

The presumptive GOP nominee has been in Great Britain since Wednesday as a part of a three country foreign tour that also includes Israel and Poland. He will travel to Tel Aviv Saturday to meet with Israeli leaders, then to Poland on Monday.

Ann Romney will remain in London and attend other events including the dressage events in which her horse Rafalca is competing.  Multiple Sclerosis-Afflicted Ann Romney rides and participates in dressage for therapy …

Team USA in the Parade of Nations at the London Olympics Opening Ceremony

Amazingly the Brits chose to honor their socialized medicine system, the NHS, that has had lots of problems, plus their children’s literature, including Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan from which JK Rowling read.  Their program also saluted the British film industry as well as the Brits’ contribution to pop culture and the music of the past 50-years.