Ilham Aliyev attended the opening ceremony of the 30th Summer Olympic Games in London

An official opening ceremony of the 30th Summer Olympic Games has been held in London’s Olympic stadium with a seating capacity of 90,000 people. The ceremony was also attended by President Ilham Aliyev and his wife Mehriban Aliyeva.

London has been hosting Olympic Games for the third time. The previous games were held there in 1908 and 1948.

Athletes will compete for a total of 302 sets of medals in 36 sports. Over 10,000 sportsmen from 205 countries will try to become Olympic champions.

The opening ceremony was called the “Isles of wonder”. The magnificent show worth $42 million was accompanied by artificial rain and the world’s biggest “tuned” 23-ton bell.

Britain’s Oscar-winning film director Danny Boyle managed to combine lyrical scenes from the life of agricultural Britain with an excursion in the history of the United Kingdom.

The “history parade” at the stadium featured episodes about the first major wave of immigration from the Caribbean in 1948, British women's struggle for their rights, protests of UK workers at poverty and unemployment in 1936.

At the end of the show, delegations of participating countries entered the stadium with their national flags. By tradition, the parade was opened by Greece - the country that invented Olympic Games.

The delegation of Azerbaijan was represented in the parade by about a hundred athletes, coaches and experts led by Chef de Mission Ilham Madatov. The national flag of the Republic of Azerbaijan was carried by the team captain, winner of the Beijing Olympics, judoka Elnur Mammadli.

President of Azerbaijan and of the National Olympic Committee Ilham Aliyev warmly welcomed our team from the podium for the guests of honor.

Fifty-three members of the Azerbaijan team will compete in 16 sports. Our country will be represented in the competitions in cycling, rowing, women's boxing and gymnastics for the first time in its history.

Then, addressing the ceremony were the Chairman of the Organizing Committee of Olympic Games 2012, Lord Sebastian Coe, and President of the International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge. Britain's Queen Elizabeth II announced the opening of the 30th Summer Olympics.

Olympic oaths were taken on behalf of the athletes, judges and coaches.

One of the highlights of the opening ceremony of the 2012 Games, held under the slogan of “Inspire a generation”, was the lighting of the Olympic flame.

The four-hour opening ceremony ended with a grand fireworks display. The show had a TV audience of four billion people on all continents.

Fans of sports in Azerbaijan also had the opportunity to see this amazing holiday.

Public TV and “Idman Azerbaijan” TV channels broadcast the opening ceremony live.

We wish Azerbaijani athletes every success and a victorious return home!