Was there a dry eye in the UK on Friday night?  There wasn’t in our house.
 
I'd longed for an iconic moment that would ensure our global moment burned as bright as the Olympic flame when it was lit and Danny Boyle delivered with the perfection we have come to expect from the Oscar-winning director.
 
You cannot overstate the importance of Boyle’s masterpiece to the creative industries in Britain.  In three hours the stunning display firmly demonstrated the brilliance of our creativity in the UK.  
 
I suspect they are still trying to bring round the creative director of Rio’s 2016 Olympic Opening Ceremony who must have been watching with an ever sinking heart as scene after scene played out in Stratford.
 
Hundreds of people involved in the London ceremony will now find themselves hot property for other major set piece events. To that end, these Olympics will have left a legacy of jobs in one of our proudest exports.
 
It is easy to forget that the opening ceremony isn’t an event for the people gathered in the stadium.  It is a global television advert made for the host city with the single purpose of showcasing the country to the world.
 
The best of course was saved until last with the most emotionally charged lighting of an Olympic Cauldron since Sydney (sorry Beijing and Athens). Seven aspiring Olympians taking the flame from a group of great Olympians and light the cauldron on behalf of all the athletes in the stadium.
 
It was the moment that London stood proudly alongside Seoul, Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney.  
 
It was a hugely brave call from Boyle and the LOCOG team and was the moment I had hoped for since we won the Olympics – London had delivered on its promise of making it a Games for the youth of the world.