Shakespeare, vintage cars, Duran Duran light up opening ceremony of Birmingham Commonwealth Games

The magnificent Bards of Brum represent some of the city's most famous exports: William Shakespeare, composer Edward Elgar, the inventor of the modern dictionary Samuel Johnson and the 18th-century Lunar Society, the forefathers of modern Birmingham.

Indian contingent, led by shuttler PV Sindhu & Men's Hockey team captain Manpreet Singh

With an array of houses from around the Commonwealth, created using virtual reality, bringing back scenes of the bygone era to depict the most famous exports of the city and amid music, dance and a cultural milieu showcasing the life and times of the local people, the city of Birmingham welcomed 6,500 sportspersons from across 72 nations and territories for the 22nd edition of the Commonwealth Games at a gala opening ceremony here.

The two-hour programme during which the organisers put up a carnival-like display that boasted Birmingham's impressive inventions, buttons, car horns, celluloid film and printing press, paid tributes to the working class at the Alexander Stadium through a raging bull, 10 metres high and built over five months, pulled in by female chain makers who would work long hours in hot and cramped outhouses to make small chains back in the 19th century.