King emerges from the Tardis as Commonwealth Games begin

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, These Games are the first with King Charles as Head of the Commonwealth By Matthew Henry BBC Sport Journalist in Glasgow Published 1 minute ago King Charles III, the Loch Ness Monster and thousands of athletes and Para-athletes took centre stage as the 2026 Commonwealth Games officially began with the opening ceremony. King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived into Glasgow's Hydro Arena in Doctor Who's Tardis – a reference to the blue police boxes seen around the city. After taking their seats alongside new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who was attending his first major engagement since replacing Sir Keir Starmer, athletes from the 74 competing nations and territories entered the arena. Those from Botswana were the first to emerge, with athletes dressed in the colours of their nations, including Ghana's red, green, yellow and black stripes, South Africa in Springbok-style rugby jerseys, and Barbados in blue and yellow combined with tartan scarves. Image source, Getty Images Image caption, The ceremony's stage was shaped to represent a Celtic knot One of the louder cheers came for the Falklands Islands – in the news recently following Argentina's victory over England in the football World Cup semi-finals – and another followed when the Samoa team emerged and performed a haka in front of the dignitaries in the Royal Box. But nothing compared to the noise which greeted the arrival of the Scotland team, who entered the arena last in their white shirts and kilts and lifted many in the capacity crowd from their seats. A large Loch Ness Monster representation then emerged, before, backed by bagpipers and drummers, a rousing rendition of Flower of Scotland followed. The next section of the evening featured theatrical performances – a show billed as "a love letter to Glasgow and the Commonwealth". It began with a performance by Scottish folk and country singer Nathan Evans and a dance under a replica of Glasgow Central Station's iconic clock. The saying "Meet me under the clock" is famous in these parts. Singer Callum Beattie's rendition of Baccara's Yes Sir, I Can Boogie – the 1970s disco tune recently adopted as Scotland's unofficial anthem - had the Scottish athletes dancing in their seats. Held indoors in front of about 10,000 people, this was a more intimate ceremony than the last time Glasgow hosted the Commonwealth Games, when a 40,000-strong crowd witnessed the opening of the Games in 2014 at Celtic Park. There was a point, after the Australian state of Victoria withdrew as hosts in 2023, when some thought these Games would not happen. Glasgow stepped in at short notice to ensure otherwise. There are eight fewer sports involved compared to 2014, given the short build-up, and venues from 12 years ago have been repurposed. But Commonwealth Sport president Donald Rukare, wearing a tartan kilt in the colours of his home country Uganda, said this edition has been made possible by the "extraordinary legacy