:00:09. > :00:19.Let the games begin. After all the anticipation and speculation, the
:00:19. > :00:22.
:00:22. > :00:28.Opening Ceremony is under way at It began with a bucolic vision of a
:00:28. > :00:33.rural Britain from centuries past. And took the spectators through the
:00:33. > :00:43.industrial revolution up to the present day. With a spectacular
:00:43. > :00:44.
:00:44. > :00:52.vision of the Olympic rings. The Queen made a dramatic entrance. Or
:00:52. > :00:59.at least appeared to. Earlier, some 65,000 people poured into the
:00:59. > :01:04.Olympic Park as excitement mounted ahead of the ceremony. 1000 %!
:01:04. > :01:08.Brilliant! I've been looking forward to it for so long. Will be
:01:08. > :01:15.taking a look at the day's events and bring you the latest from
:01:15. > :01:19.inside the Olympic Stadium. Also, as the number killed rises in Syria,
:01:19. > :01:25.the UN calls on President Assad to pull back from a full-scale attack
:01:25. > :01:28.on the country's second city. The man convicted of threatening on
:01:28. > :01:34.Twitter to blow up Doncaster airport has his conviction
:01:34. > :01:44.overturned. Spain's soaring unemployment. How one in four
:01:44. > :01:56.
:01:56. > :01:59.people in the working-age London's 2012 Olympics has begun in
:01:59. > :02:02.spectacular style. After seven years of planning, the waiting is
:02:02. > :02:07.finally over. The Opening Ceremony started an hour ago and will
:02:07. > :02:12.continue late into the night. This is the scene live in the Olympic
:02:12. > :02:16.Park, with the stadium it up, flashing lights, big screen --
:02:16. > :02:20.screens applied showing the action below. It has cost �27 million to
:02:20. > :02:30.stage the event, which is being watched by 65,000 spectators inside
:02:30. > :02:31.
:02:31. > :02:34.the stadium and its estimated up to London's Olympics have been in the
:02:34. > :02:42.distance for so long that it often felt like this momentous day might
:02:42. > :02:45.never come. But at eight 12am, 2012 exactly, the Red Arrows flashed
:02:45. > :02:55.past the new Olympic Park to provide a very British start to the
:02:55. > :02:59.Games. Down on the ground, a very familiar rural setting in entirely
:02:59. > :03:02.unfamiliar surroundings. Danny Boyle's green and pleasant land
:03:02. > :03:06.providing the extraordinary backdrop for the start of his hours
:03:06. > :03:10.of -- for his Isles of Wonder spectacular. Then the first big
:03:10. > :03:16.surprise of the night. Newly- crowned Tour de France winner
:03:16. > :03:26.Bradley Wiggins, complete with yellow jersey. Chosen to ring a
:03:26. > :03:41.
:03:41. > :03:45.giant Bell, to formally get the Danny Boyle wanted his ambitious
:03:45. > :03:55.journey through British history to reflect the country's deep
:03:55. > :03:56.
:03:56. > :04:02.connection to the countryside. not feared. The isle is full of
:04:02. > :04:06.noises. Sounds and sweet airs that give delight. But he also wanted to
:04:06. > :04:09.acknowledge the age of innovation. And, with a speech from
:04:09. > :04:15.Shakespeare's Tempest, Kenneth Branagh took on the role of
:04:15. > :04:21.Isambard Kingdom Brunel, to usher in the industrial revolution.
:04:21. > :04:28.Suddenly, chaos replaced rural serenity, leaving the 62,000 crowd
:04:28. > :04:33.to wonder at the director's vision of the Victorian age. Then, from
:04:33. > :04:37.high above the roof, five giant steel rings moved to the centre of
:04:37. > :04:40.the stadium to form the five Olympic rings. This was only a
:04:40. > :04:44.taste of London's show for the world, but it was already leading
:04:44. > :04:51.the global TV audience of 1 billion with a very different view of
:04:51. > :04:55.Britain. For many, the Opening Ceremony is as widely anticipated
:04:55. > :05:00.as much of the sport that follows it. There were tens of thousands of
:05:00. > :05:04.spectators travelling to the Olympic Park, it's an important
:05:04. > :05:10.test for the Biriba's organisers, too. The report on the day the eyes
:05:10. > :05:16.of the world turned to Stratford. It started with a celebration. Led
:05:16. > :05:21.by Big Ben, bells across the country welcomed in the first day.
:05:21. > :05:28.The Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, tried to join in. Oh, my goodness
:05:28. > :05:32.me! But that didn't really work out. Bigger tests were the head. The
:05:32. > :05:38.transport system first in the spotlight, as the world gathered
:05:38. > :05:41.and headed to east London. For the Godfry family, a hope for
:05:41. > :05:45.application ending with an invitation to the Greatest Show on
:05:45. > :05:49.Earth. I've seen the sort of things on the TV but I never thought I'd
:05:49. > :05:59.get to go to one in my lifetime. I'm going to see billions of famous
:05:59. > :05:59.
:06:00. > :06:08.people in a massive Opening People have talked about the
:06:08. > :06:12.Olympic party for years. Now, outside the stadium, it was
:06:12. > :06:17.starting. I love you, London. A kiss from Brazil. Everything is
:06:17. > :06:22.fine, everything is in good shape. Well done. Be is a great event,
:06:22. > :06:26.it's brilliant for Britain and the public. The Kamal family live
:06:26. > :06:30.around the corner. They haven't got tickets but they wanted to see
:06:30. > :06:33.their new noisy neighbours. I have been living in this area the last
:06:33. > :06:39.five years. This has massively changed everything. Construction,
:06:40. > :06:46.building. It is my area. I'm really excited. But there were different
:06:46. > :06:51.views. This is an East End market a couple of miles from the stadium.
:06:51. > :06:54.How many people from this area will be sitting in the front seats?
:06:54. > :06:59.There won't be many, and that is what is wrong. I'm fed up with the
:06:59. > :07:04.Olympics. They haven't even started yet. I know, that's what I mean.
:07:04. > :07:10.Please clear this area, this is tickets only. Back in the stadium,
:07:10. > :07:14.but those with tickets, an enormous security presence. And a separate
:07:14. > :07:20.GB team of police officers from across the country. I think it's
:07:20. > :07:24.the experience of a lifetime. It's a thumbs-up from me. So by the time
:07:24. > :07:28.you get here, very near the stadium just around the corner, you are in
:07:28. > :07:34.no doubt about the tightness of security. By the time you get here,
:07:34. > :07:41.you've had about five cheques. But for the lucky few, into the park
:07:41. > :07:47.and a seat to watch history being made. 1000 % - brilliant! I've been
:07:47. > :07:51.looking forward to it for so long. A but thousands without tickets
:07:51. > :07:55.have tonight shared the moment. 60,000 here at Hyde Park. It sounds
:07:55. > :08:00.like a cliche but I think it makes you feel proud to be British.
:08:00. > :08:04.been waiting so long and finally it is here. There are screenings like
:08:04. > :08:10.this across the country. The first Test seems to have been passed. The
:08:10. > :08:14.Games have begun with a national party. Very soon the Olympic torch
:08:14. > :08:18.will reach its final destination at the Olympic Stadium. Since it
:08:18. > :08:22.arrived in Britain to 70 days ago, but torch has travelled the length
:08:22. > :08:24.and breadth of the land. Robert Hall has been that it every step of
:08:24. > :08:31.the way, and he reports on the final day as it was carried down
:08:31. > :08:35.the River Thames. The twists and turns of this nationwide journey
:08:35. > :08:40.are virtually complete. The Olympic flame leading dry land via Hampton
:08:40. > :08:46.Court's famous hedge maze to follow the currents which once carried
:08:46. > :08:52.Henry VIII to his capital. Four time gold medallist Matthew Pinsent
:08:52. > :08:59.dance his way to the rowing Bargh Gloriana. And the fiery cauldron in
:08:59. > :09:03.her bow. At her oars, Olympians spanning more than six decades.
:09:03. > :09:09.Including Michael Le Page and Paul Berger, both in their 90s, who rode
:09:09. > :09:16.in the 1948 games. Behind Tergat at dozens of Thames rowing skiffs,
:09:16. > :09:20.some dating back to the 1900. Ahead, on grassy river banks, we'd covered
:09:20. > :09:27.slipways, craning over the parapets of bridges, the early risers adding
:09:27. > :09:32.their voices to the millions who cheered the flames passing. In all,
:09:32. > :09:39.90 boats representing the Thames tradition would take part. The
:09:39. > :09:43.flotilla shepherded through the lock by Michael Knight, the man who
:09:43. > :09:48.organised a similar event on a soggy Sunday a few months ago.
:09:48. > :09:54.be part of it, carrying the flame back into London to go on to the
:09:54. > :09:59.stadium tonight, it's fantastic. the Boat race course, young rowers
:09:59. > :10:04.from clubs across the capital joined the procession. In Fulham in
:10:04. > :10:09.Putney, rolling communities lined the water's edge to urge them on.
:10:09. > :10:14.And so to central London's urban landscape, with more lofty vantage
:10:14. > :10:18.points on offer. Under the famous bridges to the seat of government.
:10:18. > :10:23.In a way, the torch relay was a production with great locations and
:10:23. > :10:27.a huge cast. And on those terms we are now in the finale. A last
:10:27. > :10:33.chance for the people on the banks and bridges to glimpse the flame
:10:33. > :10:38.before it performs the task the world awaits. Down river at Tower
:10:38. > :10:41.Bridge, the Thames had become an arena, populated by London as and
:10:41. > :10:47.their Olympic visitors. Seeing the crowds and people, it has brought
:10:47. > :10:53.it back home that it's really exciting. I've travelled a long way.
:10:53. > :10:57.Go, London! Below them, the story which has touched so many was
:10:57. > :11:05.drawing to wait close. The relay proved a huge success but it was
:11:05. > :11:10.just a curtain raiser.... For the main event. The start of that main
:11:10. > :11:15.event is going on now. James Pearce is inside the Olympic Stadium. What
:11:15. > :11:19.is the atmosphere like? It is fantastic. It is a little dark
:11:19. > :11:22.around me because we can't turn the light on the camera and disrupt
:11:22. > :11:27.this spectacular. It's been a very British show so far, full of humour
:11:27. > :11:31.and also full of surprises. The biggest one, one of the talking
:11:31. > :11:35.points for the whole show is going to be a film which was shown just
:11:35. > :11:39.before the entrance of Her Majesty the Queen and the Jacques Rogge,
:11:39. > :11:43.the President of the aisle seat. It was filmed back in March in
:11:43. > :11:46.Buckingham Palace. There was a scene when Daniel Craig, James Bond,
:11:47. > :11:52.was invited to Buckingham Palace to see the Queen. The Queen turned
:11:52. > :11:56.round and said, good evening, Mr Bond. The tour were then filmed
:11:56. > :12:00.leaving Buckingham Palace, they headed here towards the stadium.
:12:00. > :12:06.That film then cut two-way live sequence with a helicopter hanging
:12:06. > :12:09.over the stadium. We saw the Union Jack coming out, parachutes coming
:12:09. > :12:15.out and this dictionary James Bond coming down to the stadium. Much
:12:15. > :12:19.more in store, the athletes haven't even arrived yet. We will have more
:12:19. > :12:24.on events at the Olympic Park later in the programme. First, let's take
:12:24. > :12:26.a look at the rest of the day's news. World leaders have called on
:12:26. > :12:31.Syria's government to end its assault on the country's biggest
:12:31. > :12:36.city. Thousands of troops have surrounded Aleppo, parts of which
:12:36. > :12:41.have been seized by rebel fighters. The United Nations, along with
:12:41. > :12:44.Britain and France, say they fear a full scale attack on the city and
:12:44. > :12:54.the mass so -- slaughter of civilians. This report contains
:12:54. > :12:56.
:12:56. > :13:00.That sound of a shell landing and exploding is too familiar in Syria.
:13:00. > :13:10.These pictures aren't verified, as they were downloaded from the web.
:13:10. > :13:12.
:13:12. > :13:16.But they show how heavy weapons can This is said to be a town near
:13:16. > :13:22.Damascus, but as the civil war spreads it could be anywhere in the
:13:22. > :13:27.country. Some people are getting out of Aleppo, Syria's biggest and
:13:27. > :13:32.richest city, and they are attempting to drive out rebels
:13:32. > :13:37.holding parts of the city, as they expected. Shells are coming in as
:13:37. > :13:43.well and the regime cannot afford to lose a Aleppo. This could be the
:13:43. > :13:47.turning point in the civil war. At night, a bakery was operating and
:13:47. > :13:52.foodies in short supply. The rebels would like to make Aleppo, the
:13:52. > :13:57.centre of a liberated area, close to the border, which is why the
:13:57. > :14:01.regime wants it back. In London, David Cameron met his Turkish
:14:01. > :14:05.counterpart with more strong criticism of the President Assad
:14:05. > :14:08.regime. This regime needs to realise it is illegitimate, it is
:14:08. > :14:11.wrong and needs to stop what it is doing and the international
:14:11. > :14:17.pressure against the regime and the President is only going to build
:14:17. > :14:20.until he finally goes. The Turkish Prime Minister has his own worries.
:14:20. > :14:24.The factions appearing in Syria are changing the balance of power in
:14:24. > :14:29.the region. One beneficiary of that could be the Kurdish, a stateless
:14:29. > :14:33.people who live in parts of Syria, Turkey and Iran. In north-west
:14:33. > :14:36.Syria, the Kurds are taking control of some towns, alarming the Turks
:14:37. > :14:40.who have been fighting the coalition insurgents for years. It
:14:40. > :14:48.is another sign of how the civil war is exporting political
:14:48. > :14:52.instability. And this family got out of Syria into Jordan, but their
:14:52. > :14:58.three-year-old son were shot dead by a Syrian border guard, according
:14:58. > :15:08.to Jordanian officials. His mother said she was a martyr but was now
:15:08. > :15:11.
:15:12. > :15:21.no better place night - his mother said he was a martyr. On target on
:15:22. > :15:22.
:15:22. > :15:24.target in the archery, the first world record of 2012. A man who
:15:24. > :15:27.joked on Twitter about blowing up Doncaster Airport because of
:15:27. > :15:30.disruption to his travel plans has had his conviction over-turned at
:15:30. > :15:33.the High Court. Paul Chambers was found guilty of sending a
:15:33. > :15:35.threatening message two and a half years ago. Mr Chambers' case
:15:35. > :15:38.attracted support from campaigners for freedom of speech as Matt
:15:38. > :15:40.Prodger explains. Innocent at last. On the left, a man whose joke about
:15:40. > :15:47.blowing up an airport costing two jobs and landed in a criminal
:15:47. > :15:51.record. The well, he won. He won. He is clear. Really each, have
:15:52. > :15:55.indicated and that is about all I can muster at the minute. It is
:15:55. > :15:59.ridiculously got this far. He has had the backing of thousands of
:15:59. > :16:03.people on Twitter, and famous faces like Al Murray, who said it was
:16:03. > :16:08.about free speech. He was doing what we all do, which is saying
:16:08. > :16:15.something in the heat of the moment which was an expression of
:16:15. > :16:19.frustration. The absurdity of it, really. By back in 2012 Paul
:16:19. > :16:21.Chambers was about to fly to Northern Ireland by until he found
:16:21. > :16:26.out that a flight from Doncaster had been cancelled due to bad
:16:26. > :16:28.weather. This is what he'd waited weather. This is what he'd waited
:16:28. > :16:30.to his followers. His lawyers said the swear words and exclamation
:16:30. > :16:35.marks only reinforce the fact that the threat to blow up the airport
:16:35. > :16:43.was a joke. But prosecutors said it was a menacing message and until
:16:43. > :16:47.After two and a half years and consideration by nine different
:16:47. > :16:52.judges and magistrates, Paul Chambers is clear. The question is,
:16:52. > :16:56.why was he ever prosecuted in the first place? The answer, say the
:16:56. > :17:03.prosecutors, is that the law with regard to Twitter is not clear
:17:03. > :17:11.enough. With today's judgment, it The man who murdered the Indian
:17:11. > :17:14.student Anuj Bidve has been jailed for a minimum of 30 years. Kiaran
:17:14. > :17:17.Stapleton shot the 23-year-old in the head at point blank range on
:17:17. > :17:20.Boxing Day last year. He was convicted of murder at Manchester
:17:20. > :17:23.Crown Court yesterday. Barclays has made a half-year
:17:23. > :17:26.profit of more than �4 billion despite the recent turbulent time
:17:26. > :17:29.for the bank. Last month it received a record fine for
:17:29. > :17:35.attempting to manipulate the lending rate between banks and it's
:17:35. > :17:38.now subject to a new investigation Unemployment in Spain has reached
:17:38. > :17:42.the highest level since records began in 1976 with a quarter of the
:17:42. > :17:45.working age population unable to find a job. The news comes amid
:17:45. > :17:47.fresh rumours that Spain would seek a bailout to deal with their
:17:47. > :17:49.government debt. The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and
:17:50. > :17:52.French President, Francois Hollande said that they were "determined to
:17:52. > :18:02.do everything to protect the euro zone". Our Chief Economics
:18:02. > :18:02.
:18:02. > :18:06.Queues of the unemployed are growing. Nearly a quarter of the
:18:06. > :18:11.Spanish workforce are out of work, the highest proportion in the
:18:11. > :18:15.European Union. It is back to the 70s and the Spanish jobless rate
:18:15. > :18:22.has not been so high since this era, when dictatorship was giving away
:18:22. > :18:25.too modern democracy. Violent protests have been seen on the
:18:25. > :18:29.streets of Madrid, and recently firefighters joined other public
:18:29. > :18:33.sector workers to campaign against austerity measures, and the Spanish
:18:33. > :18:37.government could be running out of time as it battles to reduce
:18:37. > :18:40.borrowing in the face of a deepening recession.
:18:40. > :18:47.unemployment rate is continuing to be a drag on growth and from a
:18:47. > :18:52.purely market point of view, Mike - - most investors are looking for a
:18:52. > :18:55.bail-out for the Spanish government this year. The French President and
:18:55. > :18:59.German Chancellor said in a joint statement that they would do
:18:59. > :19:03.everything they could to protect the euro, one of the biggest
:19:03. > :19:06.challenges for the Franco-German alliance. They celebrated the 50th
:19:06. > :19:11.anniversary earlier this month. Their response followed the
:19:11. > :19:14.dramatic pledge yesterday by Mario druggy, the European central bank
:19:14. > :19:18.chief. He said they would do whatever it takes to preserve the
:19:18. > :19:23.euro, and believe me, it will be enough. In the European financial
:19:23. > :19:27.markets, including here on the City of London, traders drew 1 at key
:19:27. > :19:31.conclusion, that the European Central Bank was ready to intervene
:19:31. > :19:36.are large fell by buying up Spanish and other government bonds, having
:19:36. > :19:40.previously been reluctant to do so. The markets are reacting positively.
:19:40. > :19:44.They do think this could be a turning point in the crisis. If the
:19:44. > :19:48.ECB gives up that reluctance and puts up more funds to support the
:19:48. > :19:53.markets, this could indeed be the end of this market panic. But that
:19:53. > :19:57.still leaves the Greek problem. International lenders left Athens
:19:57. > :20:01.having pushed the government to stick to war austerity plans. The
:20:01. > :20:04.Commission President urged Greek ministers to deliver, but there is
:20:04. > :20:12.growing speculation that they can't or they won't, which leaves a Greek
:20:12. > :20:14.Elsewhere there have been fresh indications that the US economic
:20:14. > :20:17.recovery is faltering. Figures reveal that growth has slowed to
:20:17. > :20:19.1.5%, the slowest pace for almost a year. The commerce department is
:20:20. > :20:28.blaming the slowdown on weaker consumer spending and increased
:20:28. > :20:32.Back to the Olympics now, and while the Opening Ceremony still has some
:20:32. > :20:37.way to go, the sporting action has been up and running for three days.
:20:37. > :20:40.Today, the first world records started tumbling. The first went to
:20:40. > :20:43.South Korea's Im Dong-Hyun, who is partially sighted, when he broke
:20:43. > :20:51.his own individual record in the men's archery, as Joe Wilson
:20:52. > :20:55.The home of cricket for the first Test between bows and arrows, and
:20:55. > :20:58.the first Test for Olympic sport in London. The preliminary round of
:20:58. > :21:02.archery but a Major attraction for those who love the sport. But there
:21:02. > :21:07.they were, left outside. Over the morning hundreds arrived outside to
:21:07. > :21:11.watch, but they couldn't. This event was widely advertised as on
:21:11. > :21:16.ticketed and his family came from Oregon, USA, thinking it was an
:21:16. > :21:20.invitation. My interpretation was free to the public. A free day for
:21:20. > :21:25.people to come in, get a feel for it, get an idea of what it is like.
:21:25. > :21:30.It sounded like a generous gesture. Had you feel to not be able to get
:21:30. > :21:36.in? What sort of words and I allowed to use on the BBC? I don't
:21:36. > :21:39.think I'm very happy about it and I don't think my family are. They
:21:39. > :21:43.were meant to explain that tickets were never available for Friday
:21:43. > :21:48.archery, meaning it was closed. A least the cameras captured
:21:48. > :21:52.something extraordinary. South Korea's men set a new standard for
:21:52. > :21:56.accuracy, with Im Dong-Hyun are making the highest score
:21:56. > :22:00.individually ever, and his eyesight is so poor that he can not see the
:22:00. > :22:03.target virtually. You sometimes don't want to see what is going on
:22:03. > :22:06.because it is distracting. So he could have a little advantage.
:22:06. > :22:10.whole point of the archery today was to decide who would play who in
:22:10. > :22:14.the knockout matches tomorrow, and for the main event they will move
:22:14. > :22:22.to the main venue. This could be a stunning location for Britain's men
:22:22. > :22:25.have to win a medal, but they will Let's return to the opening
:22:25. > :22:35.ceremony behind me here. Our Sports Editor David Bond is in the Olympic
:22:35. > :22:35.
:22:35. > :22:41.As you can see we are surrounded by the most wonderful scene of
:22:41. > :22:46.pandemonium. To my left, some of the dancers and performance --
:22:46. > :22:56.performers who have just finished their Estyn. What was it like? The
:22:56. > :22:56.
:22:56. > :23:01.If I can just turn away to my right, you can see the athletes from the
:23:01. > :23:03.marching teams about to go into the stadium for the opening ceremony.
:23:03. > :23:13.We are obviously only halfway through and there is a lot more to
:23:13. > :23:19.
:23:19. > :23:22.come, including the big moment of He wanted this to be a modest but
:23:22. > :23:26.proud reflection on British history and culture, but if this is modest,
:23:26. > :23:31.others like to see what he does when he shows off, because this has
:23:31. > :23:35.been spectacular. Lots of people commenting about how good it has
:23:35. > :23:39.been in reflecting British culture and music, but also the British
:23:39. > :23:42.sense of humour, particularly that moment with the Queen and Daniel
:23:42. > :23:47.Craig playing James Bond. I think that went down really well. There
:23:47. > :23:50.will be moments of controversy. The whole sequence with the NHS may
:23:50. > :24:00.lead some people to question whether Danny Boyle was trying to
:24:00. > :24:03.make a political point, but overall, it seems to be going very well.
:24:03. > :24:06.ceremony will continue for some time yet over on BBC One. We still