Stephen Hawking sparks a celebration of victories against all odds during the Paralympics opening ceremony

Umbrellas played a central role, with volunteers using a giant silver one to signify the Higgs boson. The socalled 'God-particle' was theorised 48 years ago by British physicist Peter Higgs but its existence was confirmed at the Large Hadron Collider only a few months ago – making it the motif for a tribute to the wonders of science in 2012

Getty Images