Sir Lenny Henry welcomes athletes to the Midlands in Commonwealth Games opening ceremony
The Black Country's own Lenny Henry was the master of ceremonies as the West Midlands officially welcomed sportspeople from across the world for the start of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The 63-year-old comedian and actor, a proud Dudley man, took the stage at Alexandra Stadium on Thursday night after a spectacular opening show involving hundreds of performers and a massive steampunk bull.
Kicking off the parade of athletes taking part in the Games, Sir Lenny joked about the surreal nature of the show, saying: "What an opening ceremony - I've had the wrong kind of mushrooms on me toast this morning!
"We are live from the Alexander Stadium with 30,000 spectators, including my brother Seymour who's down the front.
"All your little faces smiling at me - black, brown, pink, white, sunburnt from last week.
"Please welcome our Commonwealth champions!"
Follow the Express & Star's coverage of the game at expressandstar.com/sport/commonwealthgames/2022/07/28/birmingham-2022-live-updates-from-the-commonwealth-games-opening-ceremony.
