Football crowd greets Queen

The Queen watched a display of life during her reign

A football ground crowd greeted the Queen as she arrived at Pride Park in Derby to watch a display about the past 50 years.

Tens of thousands of spectators crowded into Derby County's stadium for the latest celebration of Her Majesty's Golden Jubilee.

She arrived with Prince Phillip on Thursday afternoon having spent the morning in Leicester where she visited a Sikh temple and the National Space Centre.

It was her first visit to a Sikh temple in Britain and she had previously made her first visit to a British mosque on Wednesday in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire.

Gold Balloons

The royal couple have stressed the importance of including all Britain's major faiths in the Jubilee celebrations.

The Queen walked around Leicester in the rain

As the Queen and Prince Phillip were driven into Derby, 18,400 gold balloons were released, one for each day of the Queen's 50-year reign.

The pair sat in the ground's Royal Box to watch the parade of 50 years of life in Derbyshire - covering the reign of the Queen.

Music from each decade was played as groups from across the county performed for Her Majesty and the 26,000 spectators.

Heavy rain did not stop the 2,000 performers who wore costumes from each of the five decades in turn.

A balloon for every day of the Queen's reign went up

After the hour-long performance the Queen thanked those who took part.

"This has been a wonderful afternoon celebrating 50 years in the life of this country.

"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."

The Queen and Prince Phillip shook hands with Derbyshire yachtswoman Ellen McArthur, three Derby County footballers, Warren Barton, Danny Higginbottom and Mart Poom, and former Goodie Tim Brooke-Taylor, before leaving the East Midlands.

Earlier in this latest leg of the Golden Jubilee Tour, the Queen's visit to Nottingham on Wednesday was marred when eggs were thrown at her Rolls Royce.

Two teenagers have been charged with disorderly conduct.