Cameron's wish comes true with first gold

British Prime Minister David Cameron attends the UK Creative Industries Forum at the Royal Academy in London July 30, 2012.

BELFAST (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron hailed Britain's first Olympic gold medal on Wednesday and said the country had succeeded in putting on an incredible show for the rest of the world.

Cameron said he got the news after sitting in a part of the Giant's Causeway rock formation known as the "wishing chair" at one of Northern Ireland's top tourist attractions.

"I was told I could make a wish. I won't say what it was but as soon as I got back to my mobile phone I got the good news," he told journalists.

Helen Glover and Heather Stanning stormed to victory in the women's Olympic rowing pair to give the host nation their first gold of the London Games in front of Princes William and Harry and 25,000 screaming fans.

"Can I first of all say how delighted I am about Heather and Helen's gold medal at rowing, an absolutely fantastic effort," Cameron said. "Well done to them, it's a great success for the United Kingdom team."

Cameron, who has kept a relatively low profile since the start of the Olympics, praised Britain's performance in staging the Games.

"The UK is a country that can deliver, that can get things done, that can put on an incredible show, that can make people proud to be British and, above all, can provide an inspiration for future generations," he said.

The Northern Ireland trip was part of a visit around the country that the prime minister is making to ensure the Olympic feelgood factor stretches well outside London.

He met several Olympic torchbearers, including budding athlete Katie Kirk, 18, one of the young Britons nominated to light the Olympic cauldron in the Olympic stadium last weekend.

"It was a beautiful, magical moment for our country," Cameron said of the lighting of the Olympic flame.

(Writing by Ian Graham and Conor Humphries; Editing by Alison Williams)