Manchester: A colourful and vibrant opening ceremony showcasing Britain's rich cultural heritage marked the inauguration of the 17th Commonwealth Games at the City of Manchester Stadium on Thursday.

Queen Elizabeth II, celebrating her golden jubilee year, formally declared the Games open amidst a thunderous cheer from the capacity 38,000 crowd who filled the newly constructed stadium.

Dazzling fireworks lit up the evening sky as the Queen heralded the first Commonwealth Games of the millennium in the presence of a host of dignitaries and top officials in this northern English city hoping to bury the miserable and costly memories of two failed Olympic bids and a football World Cup bid.

More than 6000 athletes from 72 countries, ranging from giant Australia to little Nauru, will battle for honour and glory in the next 10 days of competitions though the absence of a number of star performers has taken away some of the sheen.

India has fielded its largest ever contingent to the Games this time hoping to improve upon its tally of 25 medals collected in the last Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur but may find the medal hunting mission more difficult with powerhouses like Australia, England, South Africa and Canada expected to maintain their stranglehold.

PTI