PHOTO GALLERY: The Opening Ceremony for the 2012 Summer Olympics

July 27, 2012 | 4:39 p.m. CDT

The Opening Ceremony kicked off the start of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London on Friday.

Fireworks explode above the iconic Tower Bridge over the River Thames in central London, decorated with Olympic rings, during the Opening Ceremony at the 2012 Summer Olympics on Friday in London. | LEFTERIS PITARAKIS/The Associated Press

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, center, the President of the International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge, left, and Britain's Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, right, watch the Opening Ceremony at the 2012 Summer Olympics Friday in London. | MATT DUNHAM/The Associated Press

Actors perform during the Opening Ceremony at the 2012 Summer Olympics on Friday in London. | JAE C. HONG/The Associated Press

Artists perform during the Opening Ceremony at the 2012 Summer Olympics on Friday in London. | IVAN SEKRETAREV/The Associated Press

The British flag is raised during the Opening Ceremony at the 2012 Summer Olympics on Friday in London. | MIKE GROLL/The Associated Press