A global audience of around one billion people were watching Danny Boyle's spectacular opening ceremony this evening as the Olympic Games got under way.
Here is the Oscar-winning director's event by numbers:
- 62,000 people - the size of the audience in the Olympic Stadium.
- 8000 torchbearers, who carried the Olympic flame around the UK for 70 days.
- 34km - the height the five Olympic rings were to be carried to.
- One metre - the diameter of the white latex balloons carrying the rings, which expand to almost 10m as the air pressure drops.
- 7345 square metres of real turf, including crops.
- 10,490 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees.
- 665 drummers, mostly volunteers.
- 50 suffragettes.
- 600 dancers, who are all National Health Service staff.
- 75 "dove bikes", fitted with wings.
- One Mini Cooper car.
- 600 bubble guns.
- 6500 - the total number of props.
- 115 metres - the height of the Orbit between the Olympic Stadium and the Aquatics Centre, which will be lit up.
- Seven billion pieces of paper dropped - one for each person on the planet.
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