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After 16 days of awe-inspiring athletics, the London Olympics 2012 ended with a spectacular closing ceremony featuring some of the biggest names of British pop from decades past, including the ‘Spice Girls’, George Michael and ‘Elbow’. As fireworks went off above the east London stadium, ‘The Who’ performed ‘My Generation’ and the venue became a sea of red, white and blue confetti, the BBC reported. The finale, which began with Big Ben chiming, paid tribute to UK music, fashion and culture. As is traditional during the closing ceremony, the final medals of the 2012 Olympics were handed out. On this occasion they went to the athletes in the men’s marathon, which was won by Uganda ’s Stephen Kiprotich. The 70,000 Games Maker volunteers were also thanked for their hard work during the 16 days of competition. From role models to supermodels, Kate Moss, the undisputed queen of the home catwalk was joined by Naomi Campbell, Lily Cole, Lily Donaldson, Karen Elson, Jourdan Dunn, Stella Tennant and Georgia May Jagger to give the rapturous crowd a glimpse of British fashion. The three-time Olympic host city celebrated the closing of the Games with previously unreleased footage of John Lennon singing ‘Imagine’, performances from ‘Madness’, ‘The Pet Shop Boys’, ‘One Direction’, George Michael, ‘The Kaiser Chiefs’, Annie Lennox, Ed Sheeran, Russell Brand, Fatboy Slim, Jessie J, Tinie Tempah, Taio Cruz, Liam Gallagher and Beady Eye, Muse, Bryan May and more. The reunited ‘Spice Girls’ performed two of their biggest hits, ‘Wannabe’ and ‘Spice Up Your Life’, with the same energy – and wardrobe – the five-some had during the 90s. ‘Baby’ Bunton wore bubblegum pink, ‘Posh’, a short black dress with a flowing train, ‘Ginger’ Halliwell a red dress with a Union Jack detail, ‘Scary’ Brown a sparkling body suit and ‘Sporty’ Chisholm, a white pantsuit. The spectacular show was created by Kim Gavin, a former ballet dancer and one of the UK ’s leading creative directors and choreographers, who directed the Closing Ceremony. Titled ‘A Symphony of British Music’, the dazzling production included over 4,000 – many of who were volunteers. The showcase paid tribute to British artists of yesterday, today and tomorrow, televising performances from British musicians of the past – including ‘The Beatles’ and Freddie Mercury of ‘Queen’ – and those of the future – like ‘One Direction’ and Jessie J. The closing ceremony marked George Michael’s first public performance since he survived a serious case of pneumonia late last year. The singer performed ‘Freedom’ for the spectators. Much like Danny Boyle’s Opening Ceremony, actors also found their way to the closing ceremony stage. Russell Brand entered the ceremony atop a bus as he sang ‘Pure Imagination’ from ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’ which soon became ‘The Beatles’ hit ‘I am the Walrus’. The ceremony then became a showcase of Brazilian talent including actor-singer Seu Jorge, supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio and soccer player, Pelé. During the three-hour ceremony, the official Games flag was handed over to the mayor of Rio before the flame at the Olympic Stadium was extinguished. At the close of the ceremony, which was witnessed live by 10,000 athletes and 80,000 spectators, the flame was extinguished in dramatic fashion. Each nation will receive one of the cauldron’s 204 petals. The official handover also saw a celebration of Rio ’s mix of cultures, music and dance, bringing a carnival atmosphere to the proceedings.

London Olympics come to dazzling end with spectacular closing ceremony