Commonwealth Games get going with opening ceremony on Gold Coast

There was an extraordinary opening for the Commonwealths on the Gold Coast

A tropical rainstorm failed to dampen spirits for the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony on the Gold Coast in Australia on Wednesday.

Athletes from major nations and tiny Pacific atolls marched shoulder to shoulder during a vibrant ceremony which celebrated both the region's indigenous origins and its modern surfing culture.

After the final leg of the Queen's Baton Relay was completed by Australian hurdler Sally Pearson in the Cararra Stadium, the Games were declared open by the Prince of Wales. He said: "Even though we are half a world away, we are all connected."

A few hours earlier, protesters from the Warriors of Aboriginal Resistance group had held up the Baton relay for 50 minutes as it neared its final destination.

Only at the Commonwealths can septuagenarian lawn bowlers mix with the likes of 11-year-old Anna Hursey, who will make her debut for Wales in the table tennis on Thursday.

The Carrara Stadium is usually the home of Australian Rules football side Gold Coast Suns

The initial torrential downpour made way for the kind of early evening warmth with which this area of the Queensland coast is more accustomed.

With many of its venues close to the surf and with more sun scheduled for the 11-day event, Gold Coast appears to offer all the ingredients necessary to enrich and sustain the Games.

Over 4,500 athletes from 71 nations and territories will be taking part fighting for 275 gold medals.

Reeling from its ball-tampering scandal, hosts Australia will seek to use the Games to restore some much-needed sporting dignity and reclaim top spot in the medals table from England, who topped the list in Glasgow for the first time since 1986.

An indigenous smoking ceremony during the festivities in the Cararra Stadium

England have included Olympic champions Max Whitlock, Adam Peaty and Alistair Brownlee, while professional preparations could yield a virtual clean sweep of gold medals in the boxing ring.

But with respect to those who bring much-needed stardust, it is the sprinkling of athletes from so-called lesser nations who best embody the uniqueness of the Commonwealth Games - and encapsulate why it continues to justify its place on the sporting calendar.

The first Commonwealths gold will be presented in the women's triathlon on Thursday.