After 16 days of thrilling action the closing ceremony gets under way at the Bird's Nest Stadium with a barrage of fireworks Performers on drum carts create a superb atmosphere in the stadium as they entertain the capacity crowd on a balmy night in Beijing Two huge heavenly drums hang in mid-air within the stadium's bowls in yet another display of awe-inspiring choreography Thousands of Olympians flood into the stadium behind their national flags with the end of the Games approaching The Union Flag is hoisted accompanied by the national anthem, signalling the start of the British section to the ceremony The Olympic flag is lowered and then presented to the Mayor of London Boris Johnson who waves it with gusto A London bus emerges and travels around the stadium before pulling up at a bus stop with a host of performers emerging The bus transforms to reveal Jimmy Page and Leona Lewis who perform a rousing version of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" Enthusiastic cheers greet David Beckham's arrival on the bus before he punts a football into the crowd of athletes on the stadium floor The flame is finally extinguished and attention switches back to a stunning display on the Memory Tower in the centre of the stadium Another huge fireworks display proves to be the last act of an impressive closing ceremony as attention switches to London 2012 Earlier in the day the water misters provide comfort for the athletes as temperatures top 30 degrees Celsius during the men's marathon Twenty-one-year-old Sammy Wanjiru crosses the line to claim a stunning victory for Kenya in the Bird's Nest Stadium Roberto Echeverria receives treatment at the end of a race which a number of athletes failed to complete Britain's Dan Robinson runs a steady race to finish a creditable 24th in a time just outside his personal best Russia cope with all Italy have to throw at them in the volleyball bronze medal match, easing to a straight sets victory The US claim the Olympic men's volleyball gold after beating defending champions Brazil by three sets to one China have the crowd on their side in the team rhythmic gymnastics final as they search for their first Olympic medal in the event The reigning world champions Russia reveal a polished display to emerge victorious and claim the gold Mongolia's Badar-Uugan Enkhbat wins gold after defeating Cuba's Yankiel Leon in the bantamweight final The United States men win basketball gold with a 118-107 victory over world champions Spain in front of a crowd of 18,000 Hungary's domination of water polo continues as they win their third gold in as many Games with a 14-10 win over the US
| 
E-mail this to a friend 
Bookmark with:
What are these?