Canada's brightest stars including Bryan Adams, Nelly Furtado, k.d. Lang and Joni Mitchell teamed up to help launch the Winter Olympics in the country on Friday, putting on a stellar show at the opening ceremony.

The games kicked off with a spectacular show in Vancouver and the ceremony brought together the nation's best-loved musicians to perform at the BC Place stadium.

The event was narrated by legendary actor Donald Sutherland, and opened with a duet by Adams and Furtado, who sang Bang The Drum to the crowd.

Lang, Mitchell and singer Sarah McLachlan also took to the stage during the show, while the video for star-studded Haiti charity single "We Are the World" was previewed in footage shown across the globe.

Canadian ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky completed the Olympic torch relay and lit the legendary flame which declared the games open.

Image © PR Photos