Thousands of people have filled the Olympic Stadium for the £27m opening ceremony of the London Games.
The three-hour spectacle at the Olympic Park will be viewed by a global TV audience of around one billion people.
A fly-past by the Red Arrows started the ceremony's pre-show at the symbolic time of 20:12 BST (19:12 GMT).
Details of the ceremony remain a closely-guarded secret. Its artistic director, Danny Boyle, has dedicated it to the 15,000 volunteers taking part.
Boyle has spoken of his "excitement" for the ceremony, which is named the Isles of Wonder, as well as feeling "nervousness" for all the volunteers.
In an interview with the BBC, the Oscar-winning film director said the ceremony "might surprise people... it's spectacular, but also inclusive - it has a warmth".
The chairman of London 2012, Lord Coe, told the BBC he was "as excited as hell".
Crowds of people, many of them dressed up in their nation's colours, are gathering in large numbers at the Olympic Park.
The BBC's Claire Heald, at the Olympic Park, says transport to the stadium appears to be running smoothly and the crowds are moving quickly through security.
The day of celebration began at 08:12 BST (07:12 GMT) with a mass bell ringing. Big Ben rang for three minutes for the first time since King George VI's funeral in 1952.
In other developments:
- A celebratory concert featuring Paolo Nutini, Snow Patrol, Stereophonics and Duran Duran is being held in Hyde Park
- A fire has broken out at a pavilion in Weymouth close to where the Olympic sailing will take place. The building, due to host a VIP and media event, has been evacuated
- Lord's cricket ground turned away spectators trying to get in to watch archery amid confusion over ticketing. The London 2012 website advertised the event's preliminary rounds as "unticketed", which some people interpreted as open to the public
- Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt narrowly avoided hitting a group of women with a bell after it flew off its handle on HMS Belfast during the co-ordinated ringing - he called the moment a "classic"
- US First Lady Michelle Obama, who is in London to lead the US delegation, told the US Olympic team at their Docklands training camp "have fun, breathe a bit, but also win"
- International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge praised the regeneration which has taken place in east London and said the Games would have a "tangible legacy" with, uniquely, "no white elephants"
Forecasters say the weather for the ceremony is expected to remain dry.
Prime Minister David Cameron said: "It's a great opportunity to show the world the best of Britain, a country that's got an incredibly rich past but also a very exciting future.
"Someone asked me yesterday what face of Britain do we want to put forward - is it Blur or the Beefeaters? - and frankly it's both."
'Wave of excitement'
Mayor of London Boris Johnson told BBC Radio 5 live: "What's so amazing is just the wave of excitement seems to pass from person to person like some benign form of contagion. Everybody is getting it."
Tony Blair, who was prime minister when London won the Games in 2005, told the BBC: "It's a party atmosphere but also an immense sense of national pride - of what we are and what we can show the world."
The Olympic flame arrived at City Hall on the Queen's rowbarge Gloriana after first weaving through the maze at Hampton Court Palace then being transported down the Thames.
The flame's trip around the UK ends with the lighting of the cauldron during this evening's opening ceremony, but the identity of the person who will take on the honour remains a mystery.
Europe's largest bell will ring inside the Olympic Stadium at 21:00 BST (20:00 GMT) at the start of the opening ceremony, said to be a quirky take on British life.
Some 15,000 sq m of staging and 12,956 props will be used, and the event will boast a million-watt PA system using more than 500 speakers.
The crowd of about 80,000 will include the Queen and a host of dignitaries and celebrities.
The Olympic cauldron will be lit at the close of the ceremony - but the identity of the person who has been given the honour remains a tightly-guarded secret.
Thousands of fans are also gathering at other outdoor locations across the capital to watch the show on big screens. But the BBC's John Maguire says thousands are likely to be turned away at east London's Victoria Park because of "huge" queues for the London Live event.
The Queen and Prince Philip earlier hosted a Buckingham Palace reception for foreign dignitaries, where she wished guests a "successful, enjoyable and memorable Games".
Coverage of the opening ceremony is on BBC One and Radio 5 live now. UK users can also watch it via the BBC News website.
Collection of BBC News
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