St Pancras International

Her majesty the Queen at St Pancras

Her Majesty the Queen has officially unveiled the £800m St Pancras International station, the new home of Eurostar.

The evening ceremony also involved three trains arriving at St Pancras and their drivers meeting the Queen.

She was also introduced to those who have transformed the late-Victorian building into a 21st Century terminal.

The evening ceremony was compered by actor Timothy West playing St Pancras' designer William Barlow.

Actor Timothy West at St Pancras

The event saw two Eurostar trains and a Hitachi Bullet Train, which will shuttle spectators to and from the 2012 Olympic Park, arriving at St Pancras.

A suspended giant screen featured appearances from F1 driver David Coulthard, actress Kristin Scott Thomas and other personalities. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins and pop singer Lemar provided musical entertainment.

Watch the one hour long broadcast of the official opening and BBC London's news programme live from St Pancras with Riz Lateef.

St Pancras opening video - pictures courtesy of London & Continental Railways

The unveiling was held a week before it officially opens to the public on November 14.

More than 150 years of dirt has been removed from the brick work and a new roof has been fitted with 18,000 panes of self-cleaning glass.

The front of the station will open as a five-star hotel in 2009.

As part of its refurbishment, the station has been fitted with state-of-the-art technology including Wifi, touch-screen monitors and passenger information screens in all 60 retail units.

St Pancras will eventually be five stations in one - housing Eurostar, high-speed domestic services to Kent from 2009, Midland Mainline, Thameslink and six Tube lines.