Putting a shine on the Olympics

Prime Minister David Cameron, accompanied by a choir of local schoolchildren, hit the button for the big switch-on which shone a megawatt of light on to the showpiece venue.

It was the first time that all 532 bulbs had been lit together in a scene that will be repeated during the London 2012 Games.

Mr Cameron joked that the 537m stadium in Stratford, east London, looked more like a winter Olympic venue with Eddie the Eagle expected any moment rather than the setting for the London 2012 summer Games.

He told the 400-strong invited crowd: "It is being delivered on time and on budget."