Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, visited Stockton on 18 July, to officially open the International White Water Course as part of their Diamond Jubilee tour of the United Kingdom.

Hundreds of school children joined thousands of people from across the Borough to welcome Her Majesty and His Royal Highness to celebrate the opening on Wednesday 18 July.

The White Water course, which originally opened in 1995, has undergone a £4.6 million re-development, transforming it into a world class training facility which is one of just a few Olympic standard courses available for competitors to use in the run-up to London 2012.  It offers a range of water-based activities including white water rafting and white water kayaking.

Mayor of Stockton, Councillor Lynne Apedaile, said: "We are extremely honoured to welcome Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh to the outstanding White Water Course.

"We are very proud of the world-class facility which really showcases our Borough's best natural asset – the River Tees.

After switching on the rapids Her Majesty The Queen watched as canoeists made their way down the new Diamond and Jubilee courses.

Her Majesty also listened to a dedication from the multi-award winning Northern Cobweb Orchestra who wrote a special piece to commemorate the opening of the course.

Leader of Stockton Council, Councillor Bob Cook, said: "It was a historic and exciting day for Stockton-on-Tees.  We are absolutely delighted to have had the pleasure of hosting Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness, and to showcase this world-class facility.

"The Council is ambitious and we are working hard with our private and voluntary and community sector partners to regenerate our Borough to ensure it is an excellent place to live, work and learn. I am so pleased we had the opportunity to show Her Majesty The Queen such a fabulous example of how we are doing this."

The day was certainly a real "Diamond Jubilee" celebration with entertainment throughout the event. Visitors were treated to a whole range of water-based activities and demonstrations including exciting rafting and canoe demonstrations, formations, stunts and various swimming displays compered by legendary Five Live football commentator Stuart Hall.