EAST Lancashire people put on their best smiles and took centre stage before the world to mark the opening of the Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

Dancer Lianne Tattersall, a schoolgirl who attends Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School, enjoyed her moment in the international spotlight after beating off fierce competition to win a place among performers in the glitzy opening ceremony at the City of Manchester stadium.

And Joanne Maden, from Barrowford, also made her mark -- although the estimated billion people watching from across the world on TV wouldn't have known.

Joanne, who works at Nelson Computers in Rawtenstall, donned a colourful yellow costume to become the event's mascot Kit Kat.

She won the chance because she is under 5ft tall.

Alongside them in the opening ceremony were volunteers from across the area in their controversial purple and black shell-suit uniforms.

And Burnley's Shaznar Katun enjoyed her 15 minutes of international fame when she made an appearance as a flag bearer while Blackburn's Victoria Scott led out the Fiji team.

There was something for everyone in the celebration, from the spine-tingling arrival of the athletes - most of whom seemed more excited than the crowd to be there - to the tear-jerking handover of the Queen's Jubilee relay baton from Manchester United star David Beckham to the terminally ill six-year-old Kirsty Howard.

Add to it the breathtaking fireworks, striking costumes and impressive choreography and you got a show that suggested the XVII Commonwealth Games was going to be a huge hit.

The rain stayed away - although many of the Aussies had a pop at our weather by carrying umbrellas into the stadium!

And what a sight to see the North Stand, the temporary uncovered as yet unfinished end of the stadium, a sea of white as spectators put on their ponchos to create a massive human projector screen.

They say that if you make the beginning and the end of a show great, it doesn't matter what comes in between and the show kicked off - before the cameras were even switched on - with the young Mancunian choir urging us to do "Do it, do it, the Mancunian Way".

Parents and grandparents - as well as those who had no idea who these young singers were - will have had to wipe a tear from their eye as the kids as young as five belted out the uplifting anthem with arms reaching for the sky.

And as the stadium welcomed the TV cameras to the party, ceremonial drumbeats were sounded to unite the 72 nations taking the part.

But it wasn't long before the event erupted into another sea of song and dance as hundreds of schoolchildren from across the city showed off their funky dance skills with incredible aplomb to a One Nation soundtrack.

After the Queen and other dignitaries arrived and S Club belted out Don't Stop Movin', it was the turn of the athletes to make their entrance.

The enormous Australian team contrasted with the one-man band of Montserrat and the shorts and long socks of the Bermudans looked great against the swish robes of the Gambia squad and the saris of Ghana.

The dancers seemed to have boundless energy and the line of athletes seemed to go on forever but it was impossible to resist getting carried away with the emotion of it all.

The Scots did the conga, the New Zealanders the Haka in front of the Queen and definitely the most excitable squad were the home nation England - who arrived last to the biggest cheer of the night so far.

But that was nothing compared to the roar that went up when Canadian sprinter Donovan Bailey handed the Jubilee baton to the second-to-last person to carry it - David Beckham.

Sporting a new hairstyle, Becks carried the baton - which had travelled more than 60,000 miles around 24 countries in just over a year - the final 400 yards before passing it to brave Kirsty, who then presented it to the Queen.