Twenty golden moments of the 2012 London Olympics

The London Olympics were packed with sporting highlights, personal dramas and emotional highs and lows. Here are 20 golden moments from the Games. [TEXT: Alan Baldwin, Reuters]

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The opening ceremony and cauldron: Seven teenagers, in keeping with the Games motto of 'Inspire a generation', lit 200-plus copper petals which then rose on stalks to form the single burning flower of a cauldron. It was a dramatic finale to a musical celebration of British history and culture that also starred 86-year-old Queen Elizabeth in her first acting role alongside James Bond actor Daniel Craig. The moment of realisation that it was really... more
The opening ceremony and cauldron: Seven teenagers, in keeping with the Games motto of 'Inspire a generation', lit 200-plus copper petals which then rose on stalks to form the single burning flower of a cauldron. It was a dramatic finale to a musical celebration of British history and culture that also starred 86-year-old Queen Elizabeth in her first acting role alongside James Bond actor Daniel Craig. The moment of realisation that it was really her, turning from her desk to say "Good evening, Mr Bond", was delicious. less