“Loving every moment,” she wrote. “Watching with kids aged 6 to 13 all of whom love it and the grown-ups are in awe.”  Professor Brian Cox, the scientist, added: “I find it difficult to see how this can get any better! It's genius.”  And Billy Bragg, the singer, tweeted: “Have to say I'm digging the opening ceremony Eat your heart out Andrew Lloyd Webber.”  The Queen’s dramatic entrance, which saw her stunt double parachute from a helicopter, made a particularly big impression.  Adlington tweeted: “Love the Queen!!! Ahhhhhh!”  Rowan Atkinson was also a bit hit with the viewing public, with one fan, Rahel Aima writing: “Mr Bean prancing by the seaside x chariots of fire? this couldn't get any better. But probably will.”  Another viewer, Naomi Kyle, tweeted: “Ah, Mr. Bean. He could just sit there doing nothing and still make me laugh.”  Prad Patel added: “Rowan Atkinson just made me crease up laughing. Legend. Just... legend.”  In a nod to the madness of the show, Jack Tindale joked: “We are going to be sectioned by the rest of the world after this, but it has been worth it.”  Kenny Senior, making a similar point, quipped: “Wouldn't it have been cheaper to just give the audience a tab of LSD?”  Jeremy Singer wrote: “Bond, Bean and a Beatle! Can only be the amazing Opening Ceremony.”  The medley of some of the greatest British pop hits of the last few decades also went down well.  “This remix is outstanding! contains the greatest in the history of music”, Hazem Sadek tweeted, while Chris Wood said: “Tunes are top notch.”  Inevitably, the calls for Boyle to be knighted came before the ceremony had even ended.  “An absolute incredible opening ceremony,” tweeted Irish actor Killian Donnelly. “I'd be so proud to be British. Knighthood for Danny Boyle & Mr. Bean.”  Not everyone lavished such unadulterated praise on the show, however.  Peter York, a cultural commentator, said the ceremony included "everything but the kitchen sink" and was aimed at "a home audience".  He said: "I just kept on thinking what is the rest of the world thinking of this? While there were many things in it that I found admirable and pushed the buttons for me, I couldn't see what the message was and it was pretty messy.  "When you're doing a spectacular like this, you have to keep it simple. There is no time to explain things so you have to do things that don't need explaining.  "You would have to know about the violent change of industrialisation and Brunel and I'm not sure how many people do.  "There are whole tranches of the new middle classes around the world who come cold to us and it seems to me this was an opportunity to present ourselves to them and we have had a confused offer."  Nor was he alone in his scepticism.  “Is anyone, like, I dunno, a bit lost at where this is going?” Mark Crown asked his followers.
The opening ceremony of the London Olympics was an astonishingly well-kept   secret. The reaction, as it took place, was rapture and awe.