21st Winter Olympics get off to a glittering start in Canada

The 21st Winter Olympic Games have got off to a glittering start at BC Place Stadium of Vancouver City in Canada. The Opening ceremony began with hoisting of the Host Country Canada's Flag.

The ceremony comes at the culmination of a long slog for organisers who are confident there will be no major dramas despite unseasonably warm weather.

Excitement had built in this waterfront city, routinely voted the most livable in the world, as more than 60 thousand people prepared to witness first-hand the Olympic cauldron being lit in BC Place stadium during the opening ceremony.

An estimated worldwide television audience of three billion are expected to watch the Games.

About 2,500 athletes from a record 82 countries are participating in the games, vying for medals in 86 events-including the newly added ski-cross competition.

The first-timeWinter Olympic participants include the Cayman Islands, Columbia, Ghana, Montenegro, Pakistan, Peru and Serbia.

The overall favorites include Germany and the United States - which finished first and second four years ago in Turin - and also Canada, a best-ever third in 2006 and now brashly proclaiming its intention to finish atop the medals table on its home turf.

The cultural segment of ceremony featured many of Canada's best-known musical stars - including Bryan Adams, Nelly Furtado, Sarah McLachlan and k.d. lang.