Glasgow, July 23: India, by the virtue of being the previous hosts, will lead the Commonwealth Games 2014 opening ceremony parade around Celtic Park here tonight.

CWG Special

The parade will end with the current host, Team Scotland. At the end of the parade, athletes and team officials will be seated on the field of play, in the centre of the live show that will follow, reports BBC.

Queen Elizabeth will declare open the Glasgow Games, which will have competitions beginning Thursday, and organisers said a global TV audience of close to a billion was expected to watch the event that will feature 2,000 performers.

More than 4,500 sports persons from 71 Commonwealth nations will participate in the parade for the Games that will showcase 17 disciplines over 11 days of competition.

The closing ceremony will take place at Hampden Stadium August 3.

IANS