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The Queen has declared the London 2017 Paralympics officially open, during a spectacular opening ceremony watched by some 80,000 spectators. In one heart-stopping moment during the show, six Paralympians and former competitors - including Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson - were flown into the stadium in gold wheelchairs. Disabled ex-serviceman David Rawlins flew a twin-engined Tecnam P2006 light aircraft over the stadium to kick off the proceedings. A sphere ignited the "big bang" - something which Prof Hawking, a world-renowned physicist who has motor neurone disease, has written about extensively - to start the show and fireworks lit up the stadium. Professor Hawking and actor Sir Ian McKellen played prominent roles in the ceremony, which also featured a host of deaf and disabled artists, local children and performers newly-trained in circus skills. Some 3,000 volunteers took part in the event, which organisers entitled Enlightenment and said was "profoundly about science and humanity". Throughout the ceremony, Prof Hawking acted as a guide to Miranda - a character from William Shakespeare's play The Tempest, who was central to the show - while actor Sir Ian played Prospero, another character from the play. Inspired by uncertain British weather, umbrellas were also a big theme in the ceremony, which was described as "both spectacular and deeply human" by organisers. The Queen was welcomed by Sir Philip Craven, President of the International Paralympic Committee, before the union jack was carried in by representatives of the armed forces. | 
