london 2012 closing ceremony

Comedy legend: Monty Python star Eric Idle appeared at the Closing Ceremony to lead the audience through a singalong of his hit Always Look On The Bright Side of Life

Finale: A heart-stopping array of colours zigzagged through the night sky above the Olympic Park as fireworks concluded the London 2012 Olympic Games

Alight: Fireworks exploded into the London night sky as the Olympic closing ceremony came to a spectacular end

Inside the stadium, audience members and athletes looked on as the Olympic Park was illuminated by a breathtaking display

It's over: Fireworks lit up the Olympic Village in Stratford, east London as London 2012 drew to an emotional close

Ticker-tape: Athletes reacted as confetti rained down on them during the Closing Ceremony

Rock behemoths: Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of The Who headlined the Olympic Closing ceremony with a medley of their biggest hits, including Baba O'Reilly

Take That: After much speculation over whether they would perform or not after Gary Barlow's tragic loss of his stillborn daughter, Take That - minus Robbie Williams whose wife is due to give birth - took to the stage with hit single Rule The World

As the flames in the Olympic cauldron got weaker, the phoenix flew higher over the crowd in the stadium below

Phoenix from the flames: As the Olympic flame died, it was replaced by a Phoenix which rose above the stadium

As the cauldron separated, the Olympic flame slowly faded until it was no more and the Games was officially over

Artists from the Royal Ballet, including British ballerina Darcy Bussell, performed as the Phoenix descended from the roof of the Olympic Stadium

Football superstar: Pele appeared on stage, wearing Brazilian colours, for a performance with former street cleaner Renato Sorriso

Ready for Rio: Brazilian performers gave the world a taste of what to expect when the Games moves to Rio de Janeiro in 2016

Proud: Locog chairman Lord Coe, right, delivers a speech as IOC President Jacques Rogge watched during the Closing Ceremony

London mayor Boris Johnson passed the Olympic Flag to Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes, helped by IOC president Jacques Rogge

End of an era: The Olympic flag was lowered by representatives from the Army, Navy and Royal Air Force

Brian May of Queen performed together with Jessie J during the Closing Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games

From beyond the grave: The late Freddie Mercury, on a giant screen, led Queen out onstage for their performance at the Closing Ceremony

Muse's guitar player Matthew Bellamy joined a star-studded list of performers at the Olympic Closing Ceremony

Monty Python's Eric Idle tussled with a band of morris dancers as he performed to the 80,000-strong crowd inside the Olympic Stadium

Heavenly: Nun and angels form the backdrop for Monty Python star Eric Idle's Closing Ceremony performance

A brave performer was shot from a cannonball during Idle's sketch, a nod to Britain's rich comic history

Indie icon: Liam Gallagher and his band Beady Eye followed The Spice Girls with a performance of Oasis number one hit Wonderwall

Spice up the stage: The Spice Girls reformed to perform a spectacular set on the top of black London taxis at the Closing Ceremony

Supermodel: As the stadium was turned into a giant catwalk, London-born model Kate Moss appeared wearing a gold Alexander McQueen dress

Shimmering: Naomi Campbell, draped in gold, took over, strutting in a dazzling gold McQueen dress with a long train

Style: Supermodels Lily Cole, Karen Elson, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell walk the catwalk in a show of British beauty and design

Arriving in style: Jessie J arrived onstage performing in the back of a white Rolls Royce

Trio: Jessie J, Tinie Tempah and Taio Cruz performed during the Closing Ceremony

Right here, right now: British DJ and musician Fatboy Slim performed his most famous hits in a giant translucent octopus

Comedy star Russell Brand performed his sketch during the Olympic Games Closing Ceremony

Russell Brand sings I Am The Walrus aboard a psychedelic tour bus, a nod to the movement in British history notably popular with bands Pink Floyd, The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones and The Stone Roses

British singer Ed Sheeran performed Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here, accompanied by Pink Floyd's Nick Mason (not pictured) Mike Rutherford and The Feeling's Richard Jones

British singer Annie Lennox performed 'Little Bird' aboard a giant wooden gallion during the Closing Ceremony

Mods: The Kaiser Chiefs performed on The Who's Pinball Wizardon scooters during the Olympic Games Closing Ceremony

Comeback: Pop icon George Michael performed Freedom as well as his new single White Light

The reclusive singer took to the stage to perform for fans and athletes inside the Olympic Stadium

Imagine: A sculpture in the shape of late Beatles band member John Lennon was formed onstage during the Closing Ceremony

John Lennon's face appeared on the big screen as a choir of 100 people from Liverpool, where Lennon was born, sang Imagine. The choir included members of the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Choir and Liverpool Signing choir

Flagbearers from participating nations paraded during the Closing Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games

United nations: Flagbearers took part in the athletes' march during the Closing Ceremony

Represnting the world: Athletes from the 200 plus nations competing at London 2012 appearred in the stadium, waving their nations' flags

Team GB: A British athlete dances with a Union flag as athletes from all over the world parade during the Closing Ceremony

Team GB: Sailing gold medal winner Ben Ainslie proudly carried the British flag into the Olympic Stadium

Excited athletes enter the Olympic stadium during the Closing Ceremony ready to say farewell

Ray Davies sings 'Waterloo Sunset', during the Closing Ceremony

Artists arrange white boxes within the Olympic Stadium. The boxes represented the 303 events that took place during London 2012

The boxes formed a striking pyramid in the centre of the stage

A British military marching band performed Blur song Parklife during the Closing Ceremony 

Flying the flag: The bright colours of the Union Jacks were waved and provided a sharp contrast to the white and black newspaper print

Bang on: Stomp performed in front of the London skyline stage set

Boy band One Direction performed during the Olympic Closing Ceremony

Neil Tennant, singer of the Pet Shop Boys, performed during the Closing Ceremony

Closing: As the sun set in London, the Olympic Stadium prepared for the London 2012 Closing Ceremony

Beginning of the end: Following on from Kenneth Brannagh's turn in the Opening Ceremony, actor Timothy Spall - in character as Winston Churchill - also read lines from Shakespeare's The Tempest to start the evening

Actor Timothy Spall posed as Sir Winston Churchill atop Big Ben, while Julian Lloyd Webber accompanied him on the cello

Read all about it: A London street scene was played out - with the whole set wrapped in newspaper

Classic comedy: Del Boy and Rodney's Reliant Robin exploded during the Closing Ceremony

Only Fools and Horses: Del Boy and Rodney, dressed as Batman and Robin, appeared in the stadium

Masters of the House: Madness - led by frontman Suggs - perform Our House during a street party scene

Royal laughs: Prince Harry and Kate Middleton shared a joke during the Olympic Games Closing Ceremony

Actors paraded around the model of St Paul's wrapped in newsprint, during the opening stages of the closing ceremony

Artists wave Union Jack flags as they perform with cars, wrapped in newspaper, as the closing ceremony got underway

Back on song: Emeli Sande, who sang Abide With Me during the Opening Ceremony, performed on the newspaper-covered stage

The colourful London landscape in the centre of the Olympic Stadium, with Tower Bridge, the London Eye and the Gerkin taking centre-stage

80,000 people in the Olympic Stadium counted down to the beginning of the opening ceremony, to the chimes of a replica of Big Ben

Scaled-down London! Landmarks of the capital made up the set for the Closing Ceremony