Britain bids lyrical farewell to Games

LONDON — Britain bid a lyrical farewell to the Olympics on Sunday in a manner reflective of the way the host country embraced these Games for the past two weeks: With a bit of self-deprecation, an exhibition of national pride and a genuine desire to show the world a good time.

With performances from The Who, Muse, George Michael, One Direction and a reunited Spice Girls, London aimed to celebrate the idea that music has been one of Britain's greatest exports during the past century. Even deceased legends such as John Lennon and Freddie Mercury led singalongs via massive video screens.

The British government earmarked an extra $64.3 million to double budget for the opening and closing ceremonies in the weeks leading up the Games, a move officials justified by saying the events would give the United Kingdom "a once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity to promote itself.

At the very least, they'll boost iTunes sales.

The Spice Girls drew the evening's biggest response — particularly from camera phone-wielding members of Team USA — performing their hit "Spice Up Your Life" as they rolled around Olympic Park atop London cabs. The Who ended the night with a medley of hits, including "Baba O'Riley," "See Me, Feel Me" and "My Generation."

Opening ceremonies often are likened to weddings because of their long-held traditions, solemn oaths and promised possibilities. If that's the case, London's closing ceremony was the raucous reception in which everyone was encouraged to cut loose and each generation got a chance to play DJ.

One Direction, the Pet Shop Boys and Kinks frontman Ray Davies opened the show with songs meant to celebrate daily life in London. Fatboy Slim, Annie Lennox and Jessie J. all performed on a Union Jack-shaped stage surrounded by athletes.

In a nod to British humor, Monty Python's Eric Idle had the stadium whistling to a performance of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" that featured roller-skating nuns and a man being shot from a cannon. And comedian Russell Brand was given the honor of covering the Beatles' "I Am the Walrus" — though it was unclear whether it was meant to be a joke or a serious homage.

Yet for all the much-anticipated musical acts, it was the ceremony's use of classic lines from British literature that spoke to the heart of these Games. Quotes from the likes of Chaucer, Shakespeare and Keats appeared in various ways throughout the show, perfectly capturing an emotional fortnight in which Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt seemed immortal, South African runner Oscar Pistorius redefined the word disability and Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian in history.

"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life," read one prominently featured line from Samuel Johnson. "For there is in London all that life can afford."

London 2012 chief Sebastian Coe echoed this sentiment when he thanked the city for hosting the Olympics for the third time in its history. Paying tribute to the people who built the stadiums, the soldiers who provided security and the volunteers who made nearly everything else possible, Coe said Britain has demonstrated the power of tenacity and ambition.

"Our opening ceremonies proclaimed that these would be a Games for everyone," Coe said. "At our closing ceremonies we can say that these were a Games by everyone."

Per tradition, International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge called upon the youth of the world to assemble four years from now in Rio de Janeiro, where a South American country will host the Games for the first time.

It was a call Brazil answered during the closing ceremony with an eight-minute samba show that included singer Marisa Monte, supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio and a surprise appearance by soccer legend Pele.

Rio organizers didn't try to upstage London during the closing ceremony. And they'll be hard-pressed to top this fortnight in four years.

Even Coe seemed to acknowledge as much.

"We lit the flame," he said. "And we lit up the world."