|  | Crowds gathered early for the Queen's visit to Derby and clearly were not bothered by the heavy rains as more than 27,000 people took their seats for a spectacular display.
The pageant featured 2,000 performers from the county who helped celebrate the Queen's 50 years on the throne and Derby's 25th anniversary as a city.
The event in the stadium kicked-off at noon - but the fun, which included dance performances, exhibitions and displays, started from 11am.
 | | Matilda Southwood and Paul Glover |
Each decade of the Queen's reign was represented by a cavalcade and music from the era and the pageant also featured a specially written song "Thank You To Our Queen" performed by Matilda Southwood, Jacqueline Burley and Paul Glover.
The event was compered by Buxton-born Goodie Tim Brooke-Taylor. The Whatstandwell yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur made a guest appearance at the pageant.
The Queen arrived at Pride Park at around 2.45 to a huge welcome from the enthusiastic crowd.
Her Majesty had requested that the event should be a lively celebration of the life of Derbyshire and this country - and she was not disappointed.
The Queen took the unusual step of making a short speech at the end of the pageant.
She said: "I offer my congratulations to all of you who took part and I extend my gratitude to everyone here today for your loyal support during this Golden Jubilee year.
"This has been a wonderful afternoon celebrating 50 years in the life of this country."
More on the Jubilee pageant (from BBC News>>)
Now we'd like you to share your memories of the Pride Park pageant. What did you think to it? Did you take part? Did the rain spoil it? Did you have a fantastic day? Parking problems? Have your say!
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