Some of the biggest names in the ballet world have performed for the Queen during a Golden Jubilee gala at the Royal Opera House in London on Tuesday.

Principal dancers at the Royal Ballet, including Darcey Bussell, Alina Cojocaru and Zenaida Yanowsky, were joined by international stars including Sylvie Guillem and Roberto Bolle for the performance.

Darcey Bussell was among those performing

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were among a crowd of 4,000, with many watching on a big outdoor screen in the neighbouring Covent Garden piazza.

The night's programme was designed to include dances from across the Queen's 50-year reign.

It included excerpts from ballets including Don Quixote, Carmen, Romeo and Juliet and Christopher Wheeldon's Tryst, a new work that has been dedicated to the Queen.

The venue said it was showing the performance on the big screen - letting the public watch the proceedings for free - because the Queen wanted as many people as possible to have access to the Jubilee celebrations.

The Queen had been on engagements in London during the day

It was one of the first times a Royal Ballet performance had been beamed to fans outside the Opera House, after a number of operas had been relayed in a similar way.

Some of the performers, such as Bolle and Yanowsky, had already performed for the monarch during her Jubilee celebrations, taking part in the classical concert staged in the grounds of Buckingham Palace.

Marianela Nunez, Carlos Acosta and Robert Tewsley were among the other dancers taking part in Tuesday's Royal Opera House performance, which was conducted by Charles Barker.

The proceeds of the evening will go towards the Jubilee Fund, which has been set up to help the Royal Ballet's young dancers and choreographers.