The greatest show on earth was given a quintessential British welcome inside a packed Olympic Stadium last night as London 2012 raised its curtain in spectacular theatrical fashion.More than 80,000 jubilant spectators watched in wonder as the $753 million venue was transformed into an elaborate series of extravagant sets, depicting and celebrating the British way of life.The anticipation had been simmering around an expectant Olympic Park long before the jaw-dropping ceremony, entitled “Isle of Wonder”, launched into life with London’s own Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins signalling the start of proceedings by chiming a 23-ton bell.With Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle in charge of the lavish production, it was no wonder the vibrant visual feast felt at times more like a more like a movie than an Olympic opening ceremony.Costing a whopping $42 million, the dazzling display celebrated the green and pleasant land of meadows, farms, cottages and village cricket matches, but also the ‘dark satanic mills’ of the Britain’s darker industrial past.Boyles’ warts and all three act mash up of Britain’s storied history also drew from Shakespeare to pop culture, with one scene featuring an epic duel between Lord Voldemort, the villain from JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books, and a horde of flying nannies from Mary Poppins.Another humorous segment saw a stunt “James Bond” and a stunt “Queen” drop into the stadium from a helicopter to the theme tune from the popular spy movie, Union Jack parachutes and all.Incidentally, the ‘real’ Queen Elizabeth II was in attendance last night as was Bond actor Daniel Craig.Having paid homage to Britain’s film favourite, Boyles’ ceremony then gave prominence to the UK’s proud music industry with diverse performances from rapper Dizzy Rascal and Tubular Bells creator Mike Oldfield providing a live soundtrack as camera flashes continued to spread cross the stadium’s aisles as the crowd watched on.The ceremony’s prime purpose, the athletes’ parade, then took centre stage with more than 10,000 competitors from 204 nations entering the 80,000-seater stadium.Leading out Bermuda was flag bearer Zander Kirkland, who received the honour at the request of his younger sibling, Jesse, who selflessly turned down the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in a true display of Olympic spirit.With a huge smile spreading across his face, Zander proudly flew his country’s flag as his teammates closely followed, drawing an appreciative chorus of cheers from the crowd in response to the male athletes’ unique national dress of red Bermuda shorts.Long jump medal hopeful Tyrone Smith particularly soaked up the special moment, playing up to the cameras by dancing an impromptu jig which would have watched by a global audience of around a billion people.After more than three hours of dancing, cheering and clapping, the audience caught a collective breath as the Olympic torch, which had travelled 12,800 miles, was carried into the stadium by former British rower Steve Redgrave, a five-time Olympic gold medallist.An array of fireworks then exploded across the East London night’s sky before Sir Paul McCartney treated the frenzied audience to a rendition of Beatles classic ‘Hey Jude’ to bring the colourful ceremony to a close.The fun-filled festivities may have only just come to an end, but for Bermuda’s athletes the real business must now begin.Up first for the Island is Jenaya Wade-Fray who is set to represent Great Britain’s women’s basketball team in their group opener against Australia tonight.Let the Games begin!