<p> The Olympic opening ceremony had monarchs, presidents, prime ministers, Michelle Obama and the cast of "Downton Abbey" -- and that was just in the audience.<br /><br />The ceremony itself included Muhammad Ali, Paul McCartney and David Beckham -- who drove the Olympic flame down the Thames in a speedboat.<br /><br />This was a decidedly A-list affair.Among the 60,000 spectators at Olympic Stadium was Queen Elizabeth II, her husband Prince Philip and younger royals including Prince William and his wife Kate, and Prince Harry.<br /><br />There was a sprinkling of screen stars, including British actors Richard E Grant and Orlando Bloom, who stopped to take pictures with British soldiers and fans outside the stadium. "I'm a big fan of Danny Boyle, so I'm excited to see what he's done," Bloom said.<br />Actor Hugh Bonneville, who plays aristocrat Lord Grantham in the costume drama "Downton Abbey," tweeted a picture of his fellow cast-members arriving at the stadium.<br /><br />Across town in Hyde Park, Duran Duran, Paolo Nutini, Stereophonics and Snow Patrol played at a concert for music fans who couldn't go to the ceremony, which was shown on big screens.<br /><br />The British government says more than 80 heads of state and government were in the Olympic Stadium audience, including royalty from Brunei, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.</p>.<p><br />The US was represented by first lady Michelle Obama, and Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney was also on hand, a day after making himself unpopular in Britain by expressing doubts about the country's ability to pull off a successful games.<br />Britain proved yesterday it could pull off a successful opening ceremony. Boyle's show, a 27 million pound (USD 42 million) spectacular titled "Isles of Wonder," drew rave reviews from live and television spectators.<br /><br />Beckham, who helped bring the games to London, said the ceremony was "an amazing moment."</p>
<p> The Olympic opening ceremony had monarchs, presidents, prime ministers, Michelle Obama and the cast of "Downton Abbey" -- and that was just in the audience.<br /><br />The ceremony itself included Muhammad Ali, Paul McCartney and David Beckham -- who drove the Olympic flame down the Thames in a speedboat.<br /><br />This was a decidedly A-list affair.Among the 60,000 spectators at Olympic Stadium was Queen Elizabeth II, her husband Prince Philip and younger royals including Prince William and his wife Kate, and Prince Harry.<br /><br />There was a sprinkling of screen stars, including British actors Richard E Grant and Orlando Bloom, who stopped to take pictures with British soldiers and fans outside the stadium. "I'm a big fan of Danny Boyle, so I'm excited to see what he's done," Bloom said.<br />Actor Hugh Bonneville, who plays aristocrat Lord Grantham in the costume drama "Downton Abbey," tweeted a picture of his fellow cast-members arriving at the stadium.<br /><br />Across town in Hyde Park, Duran Duran, Paolo Nutini, Stereophonics and Snow Patrol played at a concert for music fans who couldn't go to the ceremony, which was shown on big screens.<br /><br />The British government says more than 80 heads of state and government were in the Olympic Stadium audience, including royalty from Brunei, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.</p>.<p><br />The US was represented by first lady Michelle Obama, and Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney was also on hand, a day after making himself unpopular in Britain by expressing doubts about the country's ability to pull off a successful games.<br />Britain proved yesterday it could pull off a successful opening ceremony. Boyle's show, a 27 million pound (USD 42 million) spectacular titled "Isles of Wonder," drew rave reviews from live and television spectators.<br /><br />Beckham, who helped bring the games to London, said the ceremony was "an amazing moment."</p>