And So It Begins

The Turin Winter Olympics kicked off last night without a hitch.

The opening ceremony, held in front of an audience of 30000, lasted 3 hours and involved 2500 competitors from 80 countries.

The ceremony began with Italian gold medalist Yuri Chechi, swinging a hammer onto an anvil which kindled a ball of flame.

Skaters dressed in red with flame-shooting helmets entered the arena; followed by dancing tree-men, cows and snowballs.

The ceremony was a mix of Italian Renaissance and rave dancing. Twenty eight acrobats formed themselves into the shape of a dove.

Then supermodel Carla Bruni, dressed in a sparkling white floor-length gown, carried the Italian flag across the stage.

The Olympic flag was carried in by eight women: 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Muta Maathai of Kenya; Chile's Isabel Allende, two-time winner of the Nobel Prize for literature; Cambodian human rights activist Somaly Mam; Sophia Loren; Susan Sarandon; and three Olympic medalists, Nawal el-Moutawakel of Morocco, Manuela di Centa of Italy and Maria Mutola of Mozambique. Yoko Ono appeared on stage to recite John Lennon's "Imagine."

This is the easy bit, now the organisers must ensure that the games run smoothly without any unpleasant interruptions or scandals.