Commonwealth Games 2010: India opens doors to the world at opening ceremony

 No collapsing scenery or malfunctioning sound system. No fluffed lines, botched choreography or missed cues and not a single stray dog in sight. The preparations for the XIXth Commonwealth Games may have been an unmitigated disaster but India certainly knows how to put on a show

Lighting up the sky: despite a chaotic lead up to the Commonwealth Games, Delhi put on a spectacular opening ceremony on Sunday 

A dazzling, colourful, high-octane opening ceremony that was part Bollywood, part cultural extravaganza, did much to dispel the nightmares of the past fortnight, thrilling a sell-out crowd in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium as well as the athletes and officials from 71 Commonwealth nations.

It even managed to start on time, to the very second, proving there are some deadlines that Games organisers are capable of meeting.