Grand farewell of London Olympics

Mangalore Today/ ITV

London, August 12, 2012: Some of Britain’s greatest singers and celebrities provided a touch of glamour and vibrance as London tonight bid a grand farewell to bring down the curtains on the 30th Olympic Games with a heady mix of music, culture and dazzling fireworks here.

 

 

 

The skyline lit up with breath-taking fireworks and the swanky Olympic stadium was virtually transformed into a jukebox as some of Britain’s biggest pop stars and singers performed in an engrossing ‘after show party’. 

At the end of a three-hour ceremony, the Olympic flame was ceremoniously extinguished, marking the end of the 17-day sporting extravaganza which saw many Olympic and world record being re-written and many new heroes emerging.  More than 10,500 athletes from 204 nations took part in the Games staged in this historic city for an unprecedented third time.

US and China predictably emerged as the powerhouses by taking the first and second spots in the medals tally while hosts Britain produced their best-ever show to take the third position.

 

 

 

 

 

India too had their moments of glory at the Olympic Games as it notched up its best ever medal tally of six.  Similar to the opening ceremony, Britain again showcased its rich music repertoire combined with some stunning visual and lighting effects at the closing ceremony watched by an estimated two billion global audience.

Billed as the biggest ‘after show party’, the Spice Girls appeared atop London’s black taxis singing some of their chart-bursting numbers and there were others such as The Who, George Michael, Muse and Ed Sheeran who enthralled the capacity crowd of 80,000 who thronged the stadium.

The closing ceremony celebrated the achievements of athletes at the Games and also saw London handing over the baton to Rio de Janeiro, which is hosting the 2016 Games.

 

 

 

 

The Ceremony provided an opportunity for the world to view the creative expressions of Artistic Director Kim Gavin, his team and the culture of United Kingdom. 

The Closing Ceremony, titled ‘A Symphony of British Music’, celebrated the fact that music has been one of Britain’s strongest cultural exports over the last 50 years.  More than 4,100 performers, including 3,500 adult volunteers and 380 school children from the six East London Host Boroughs, took part in the ceremony. 

The ceremony began with a show depicting a journey through a day in the life of the city—from early morning rush to glittering sunset.

Singer Emeli Sande was driven around the track in a newspaper rubbish truck, singing “read all about it”. Soon Julian Lloyd Webber could be seen playing cello.

The figure of former PM Winston Churchill, played by Timothy Spall, then appeared with his cigar and proclaimed words from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. 

Michael Caine then appeared on the big screen and his voice from the iconic British film “The Italian Job” echoed around the stadium, followed by the exploding doors of a car.  As the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life” came to an end, the central knot of roads, traffic and buildings pulled apart in a dramatic burst.

British-Irish boy band ‘One Direction’ performed ‘What Makes You Beautiful’, followed by a performance of percussion group ‘Stomp’.

Thirty gymnasts from ‘Spellbound’ then performed on and around the buildings, dressed as a gang of clown-headed city businessmen.

British rock band ‘Kinks’ also had their moment, performing the ‘Waterloo Sunset’ song.  After the initial concert, the flag-bearers of the participating delegations, including India’s bronze medal winning woman boxer M C Mary Kom, entered the Stadium in single file, closely followed by the athletes.

At the Closing Ceremony, athletes marched together, not by nationality. This was a tradition that began at the Melbourne 1956 Olympic Games and is a way of bringing the athletes of the world together as ‘one nation’.