The London 2012 Paralympic flame has been created at the spiritual home of the movement, as it embarks on a 24-hour torch relay culminating in the start of this year's Games.
Flames which have travelled from London, Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh were joined to make up one large flame at Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire, before it makes its way through Hertfordshire to the Olympic Park in time for the opening ceremony.
The overnight relay, featuring 580 torchbearers in teams of five, is a 90-mile journey.
The ceremony at the stadium in Stoke Mandeville, where the Paralympic movement began in 1948, was opened by Lord Seb Coe who said he was "so excited" that the games were coming home.
He also paid tribute to Dr Ludwig Guttman who founded the games 64 years ago.
Paralympic gold medallist Tony Griffin carried the English flame during the ceremony while Paralympian Christopher Channon took the Scottish flame on to the stage.
Members of the torchbearing team Special constable Darren Ferguson carried the flame for Northern Ireland after being recognised for going to the aid of a man who wanted to take his own life, while Marsha Wiseman bore the Welsh flame after being nominated for the work she has done to promote the Paralympic Games.
The four flames were struck last week by young disabled and non-disabled Scouts on the four highest mountain peaks in each of the four host nations - Scafell Pike in England, Snowdon in Wales, Ben Nevis in Scotland and Northern Ireland's Slieve Donard.
More than 2.4 million Paralympic tickets have been sold already, half a million of those to overseas visitors.
Ten thousand tickets will be available each day during the event and the Games are on course to be the first Paralympics to sell out.
London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton said: "We've tried to get as many people in as we reasonably can. This is a wonderful illustration of how the British public have said we love the Paralympics and want to be part of it."
Some 800 of the tickets to tomorrow's sold-out show were given away to troops and police.
Earlier it was revealed that the Queen and Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will attend the opening ceremony in the Olympic Stadium.
Prince Harry's first public appearance since naked photos of him made headlines around the world will be at the aquatic centre on Monday where he will watch the swimming.
More than 3,000 adult volunteers are taking part in the opening ceremony, along with around 100 children and a professional cast of 100. Some of the performers have completed a circus skills training programme to prepare for the performance which will feature a high-wire act.
Many details of the show have been kept under wraps but Bradley Hemmings, who has been responsible for its organisation, alongside fellow artistic director Jenny Sealey, promised it will be "both spectacular and deeply human".
The ceremony, signalling the start of 11 days of competition by nearly 4,300 athletes from 166 countries, has been given the theme and title Enlightenment and features deaf artists and those with other disabilities.
It will begin with a flypast by Aerobility, a charity that trains disabled people to become pilots. The cast also includes past Paralympians and injured soldiers.
