The ceremony set the stage for 11 days of intense competition, which will see over 7000 athletes from 71 countries vying for honours.
A spectacular laser fireworks show lit up the evening sky and India took a giant leap, 28 years after it hosted the Asian Games.
The past few weeks of negative publicity that had dogged the nearly Rs 70,000 crore mega-event was quickly forgotten as the glittering opening ceremony, which encapsulated a fascinating mix of culture and modernity, kept the spectators enthralled for more than two hours.
Against the backdrop of an early October sunset, the spanking new Jawaharlal Nehru stadium turned into a golden hue as the Rs 44 crore aerostat lifted into the skies and a bevy of puppets danced and over 800 drummers heralded the event.
Let the Games begin!
Athletes from the Cook Islands arrive onto the field of the XIX Commonwealth Games opening ceremony at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi
England athletes led by flag bearer Nathan Robertson take part in the opening ceremony of the XIX Commonwealth Games in New Delhi
Brunei Darussalam athletes led by flag bearer Ampuan Ahad take part in the opening ceremony of the XIX Commonwealth Games in New Delhi
The Australian contingent at the opening ceremony.
Athletes from Canada take part in the opening ceremony of the XIX Commonwealth Games in New Delhi
A memorable performance indeed!
School children perform during the XIX Commonwealth Games opening ceremony at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi
India showcases to the Commonwealth its culture and tradition at the opening ceremony of the Games at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
A grand tribute to the tricolour.
A performer hits a giant drum at the Ceremony.
Giant puppets from Rajasthan left the viewers awestruck.
Fireworks light up the Jawaharlal nehru Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games.
Pyrotechnics set off as the aerostat rises.
An interior view of the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium at the start of the XIX Commonwealth Games opening ceremony.
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, left, Britain's Prince Charles, second from left, Indian President Pratibha Patil, extreme right, attend the opening ceremony.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the Opening Ceremony.
Bangladeshi contingent
India's Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi gestures at the start of the opening ceremony
A sight to behold!
School children perform for the crowd during a pre-show of the XIX Commonwealth Games opening ceremony at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.
Forwards Collection 
Comments
wonderfullll !!!
A tight slap to negative media !!!!!
WE CAN !!! JAI HO !!!
BEST WISHES !!!
For those who have not seen it - please make it convenient to see the CD of the complete ceremony as and when it is released! And come to Delhi!!
Deepak from New Delhi
my India!!! Mother of all clours... proud of you.
shivers went pass me when i saw the coverage
m proud to be a part of such diverse yet unified culture
jai ho
vande mataram
i love my india
hope thta 19th this Commonwealth Games will be very exciting to all viwers.
THanks for commonwelth commettee and our Army.
EXCELLENT ACTIVITIES
EXCELLENT OPENING CEREMONY
CONGRATS ONE AND ALL
MY INDIA- YOUR INDIA - OUR INDIA
HAS OPENED NEW DOORS FOR THE WHOLE WORLD THROUGH CWG OPENING CEREMONY
JAI HIND
GO INDIA GO
We are Proud be a an Indian, Commonwealth Games in India and all supported team thanks for join in mega event and your contribution is Great Really Great.
Khan,
Thanks CWG planners.. HATS OFF !!
Great job done by India. MEDIA should now keep their mouth shut
wake up India. India against China, india is 100 years behind and start form here and start working
We can do it, its proven.
Media should need to update it because they don't know the work we done but they just know what we don't.
Its Great to see all.
We must proud to be an Indian.
There is always some negetive critics, Let them be there.
Go ahead and get more Medals than in Mancester
Acheive success in Medals tally.
To all the idiots who think this is going to put India somewhere up there: Wake up! You're being fleeced.
all the stadiums are practically empty, there is no one watching the games even when India is palying.These games should be held in country where people are intersted in this kind of games
LIKE football world cup play in S A
all the stadiums were pack with full capacity, I cant see why Indians calms that they are BEST. they are 100 years behind China, they are best in Imaginary
Than Q
Rrgards
Rs Prajapati
What about the fraud you did for CWG and what about the cleanliness of players accomodation. Do you have any answer this . Where is the rest of money ,Its in your pocket.One dy you have pay for all the fraud's.
For those who dont know India this is what we, better than the others who dont have enough to run there own nation.
And Media ppl.. As the fourth pillar of our democracy, take the initiative now to take the country name forward from here.. We need it!!!! And its not just your responsibility but your duty.
Congrats everyone involved for the success story YOU GUYS have created for INDIA !!!!!
Absolutely correct. India will never beat China. China has developed systematically. Here, there is no system first of all to develop.
Secondly, China is built on socialist principles. There is no rich-poor divide. In India socialism died with Nehru. Today only businessmen (and politicians who play to their tunes) are getting richer and richer while the rest of the nation are becoming poorer and poorer.
"JAI HIND"
Socialism and Nehru debatable.
Behind China..no probs we'll get there may be.
Being fleeced we will make them accountable. Poor in Europe is there no poverty?
I pray our polity and the politicians will work towards a better future yet I rejoice in our show we put up.
Empty stands are a typical mismanagement yet the show is wonderful..matches some of the very best.
No one can take it away form us!!
I don't see that happening, Anand. I see every year people voting in the same criminals. I don't know where you live. But you must come to Mumbai to see first-hand the mismanagement of this country. Buses run without numbers and they have no set timings. Trains are like Hitler's gas chambers. I don't have a car. I travel everyday using public transport. I see the masses first hand. It is hard to believe this is a civilized country. And on the other hand you have things like IPL and CWG - a hand full of people minting money which they'll never need.
JAI HO
I M PROUD 2 B AN INDIAN
JAI HIND
Time to think dear youth .
RSS feed for comments to this post