The Queen has declared the London 2012 Paralympics officially open, during a spectacular opening ceremony watched by some 80,000 spectators.

Britain’s first Paralympic Games gold medallist, Margaret Maughan, 84, had the honour of lighting the cauldron.

Games chief Lord Coe told the crowd: “Prepare to be inspired, prepare to be dazzled, prepare to be moved.”

Earlier, athletes paraded around the Olympic Stadium, with ParalympicsGB entering last to huge cheers.

The opening ceremony signalled the start of 11 days of competition by 4,200 athletes from 164 countries, including more than 300 athletes from the home nation.

Lord Coe told the crowd at the east London stadium: “It is my great honour to say welcome home to the Paralympic Games.”

He said Britain was ready and the crowds in attendance would be “unprecedented”, adding: “These will be a Games to remember.”

Eight members of the British under-22 wheelchair basketball team were given the honour of carrying the Paralympic flag into the stadium. It was raised by members of the armed forces, before the Queen declared the Games open.

At the close of the ceremony, Royal Marine Commando Joe Townsend – an aspiring Olympic triathlete, who lost both legs while serving in Afghanistan – descended on a zip wire into the stadium from the top of the nearby Orbit tower.

He passed the torch to Ms Maughan, who won gold in archery at the Rome 1960 Paralympics.

She lit a tiny flame on the ground, igniting more than 200 copper petals. Long stems then rose towards each other to form a cauldron, signifying unity.

The ParalympicsGB athletes earlier entered the stadium to David Bowie’s Heroes, led by Peter Norfolk, the two-time Paralympic wheelchair tennis champion, who carried the union jack.

The show, which was opened by Professor Stephen Hawking, featured a flypast by Aerobility, a British charity that trains disabled people to become pilots.

A sphere ignited the “big bang” – something which Prof Hawking, a world-renowned physicist who has motor neurone disease, has written about extensively. Fireworks were then set-off around the stadium.

‘Science and humanity’

Some 3,000 volunteers took part in the show, which organisers entitled Enlightenment and said was “profoundly about science and humanity”.

Throughout the ceremony, Prof Hawking acted as a guide to Miranda – a character from William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, who is central to the show – while actor Sir Ian McKellen played Prospero, another character from the play.

The Queen was welcomed by Sir Philip Craven, President of the International Paralympic Committee, before the union jack was carried in by representatives of the armed forces.

It is the first time the monarch has officiated at the openings of both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Six London-based choirs – including the London Gay Men’s Chorus and the Lewisham Choral Society – performed Principia, a specially composed piece by Greenwich-based composer Errollyn Wallen.

Teams from all 165 countries paraded into the stadium in a section of the show which was called Spirit in Motion by the directors.

Music used for the parading athletes was mixed and played by three London-based DJs – DJ Walde, DJ Excalibah and Goldierocks.

The Paralympic torch began its journey in Stoke Mandeville, the spiritual home of the Paralympic Games, on Tuesday night.

It was carried by 580 torchbearers in total, and after being carried past some of London’s most famous landmarks, was used to light a scaled-down version of the Olympic cauldron.

UK Sport and the British Paralympic Association have set a minimum target of 103 medals this time from at least 12 sports, including swimming, athletics and rowing.

Hopes are high that ParalympicsGB will emulate the success of Team GB, but one of the UK’s most decorated Paralympians has warned the competition for medals is likely to be tougher than ever.

Britain finished second in the medals table at the 2008 Games in Beijing, winning 42 golds, 29 silvers and 31 bronzes. China were top with 211 medals, of which 89 were gold.

Speaking before the ceremony, Prime Minister David Cameron said he believed the Games were “going to to make the whole country incredibly proud”.

He told Channel 4 News: “The Olympic Games made us proud but I think this will make us prouder still because you are going to see an extraordinary display of sport.

“We can be very proud that more Paralympians are taking part in more sports, in more stadia, watched by more people than at any time in the past.

“It’s been a sell-out and that is, I think, a great story for our country and it will inspire a lot of people and change people’s views about disability and that is absolutely crucial.”

BBC