A selection of brilliant costumes dedicated to Her Majesty the Queen is the order of the day at this year's Great North Run.

Colourful costumes paying tribute to the Queen have dominated lots of costumes at the start line of the flagship event this Sunday.

Great North Run LIVE: Updates as event gets underway

So far, a minutes' silence has been held with thousands of runners falling quiet at the start line in Newcastle.

At around 10.42am, the runners were seen mourning the loss of the Queen while only a handful were waving to the camera out of respect.

Read more: Great North Run to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II 

We're there and here's just a selection of the pictures so far...

The Northern Echo: A picture of people gathering at the Great North Run Picture: NORTH NEWS AND PICTURESA picture of people gathering at the Great North Run Picture: NORTH NEWS AND PICTURES (Image: NNP)

The Northern Echo: A picture of people gathering at the Great North Run Picture: NORTH NEWS AND PICTURESA picture of people gathering at the Great North Run Picture: NORTH NEWS AND PICTURES (Image: NNP)

The Northern Echo: A picture of people gathering at the Great North Run Picture: NORTH NEWS AND PICTURESA picture of people gathering at the Great North Run Picture: NORTH NEWS AND PICTURES (Image: NNP)

The Northern Echo: A picture of people gathering at the Great North Run Picture: NORTH NEWS AND PICTURESA picture of people gathering at the Great North Run Picture: NORTH NEWS AND PICTURES (Image: NNP)

The Northern Echo: A picture of people gathering at the Great North Run Picture: NORTH NEWS AND PICTURESA picture of people gathering at the Great North Run Picture: NORTH NEWS AND PICTURES (Image: NNP)

The Northern Echo: A picture of people gathering at the Great North Run Picture: NORTH NEWS AND PICTURESA picture of people gathering at the Great North Run Picture: NORTH NEWS AND PICTURES (Image: NNP)

The Northern Echo: A picture of people gathering at the Great North Run Picture: NORTH NEWS AND PICTURESA picture of people gathering at the Great North Run Picture: NORTH NEWS AND PICTURES (Image: NNP)

The Northern Echo: A picture of people gathering at the Great North Run Picture: NORTH NEWS AND PICTURESA picture of people gathering at the Great North Run Picture: NORTH NEWS AND PICTURES (Image: NNP)