The stadium had been turned into a giant representation of the Union Flag, designed by Damien Hirst. Around 4,100 people partook in the ceremony; which reportedly cost £20 million. The 2012 Summer Olympics were officially closed by Jacques Rogge, who called London's games "happy and glorious." The ceremony included a handover to the next host city for the 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro and saw the Olympic flame extinguished and the Olympic flag lowered. The main part of the evening featured a one-hour symphony of British Music as a number of British Pop acts appeared. Tributes to John Lennon and Freddie Mercury and the fashion industry were included in the section. Rio marked the handover with an eight-minute section known as "Embrace" created by Cao Hamburger and Daniela Thomas, featuring Pelé. Sebastian Coe gave a speech, and the volunteers of London 2012 were thanked.
An average of 23.2 million viewers in the United Kingdom watched the event, with an estimated 750 million worldwide. Critics were generally positive, but noted that it was not as good as the opening ceremony. Some of the foreign reviews questioned whether everyone would have understood the nods to British film and television. George Michael was roundly criticised for his song choice while Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Russell Brand were criticised for not demonstrating the Olympic ethos in their past behaviour. Some performers were initially reluctant to appear, and other high-profile acts turned down invitations to perform at the ceremony. NBC in the United States, TV5 in the Philippines and Prime TV in New Zealand were criticised by viewers for their broadcasts of the ceremony. There was also a concert in Hyde Park to close the Olympics, featuring Blur, New Order, and The Specials.[2]
The creative director and choreographer was Kim Gavin,[3][4] with Es Devlin responsible for design and David Arnold as musical director.[5] When Arnold was announced in his role he said that doing the closing ceremony was an honour and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,[6] while Gavin stated that he was really excited and honoured to be involved. Devlin said that she was delighted to be part of the "greatest show on earth". Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, stated that he was delighted to have a high-quality team working on the ceremony, while Boris Johnson stated that "we have the best of British creating the spectacular bookends of our Games".[7]Stephen Daldry was the executive producer and Mark Fisher was in charge of production design. The ceremony cost £20 million, with the artists paid just £1 for contractual purposes.[8] Around 4,100 performers took part, comprising 3,500 adult volunteers, 380 schoolchildren from the six original host boroughs, and 250 professionals. There had been around 15 rehearsals for the volunteers at the Three Mills Studio and at a full-scale site in Dagenham, East London.[9]
Gavin said that "the show we are putting on is very shiny, it's very colourful. We don't want to bang on about our culture. We just want to have fun". Es Devlin added that it "has to make sense in Bognor and Bogotá."[10] She said that the creators had happily indulged in the chance to "visually draw on everything" that British imagination can offer.[9] David Arnold said "It's going to be beautiful, cheeky, cheesy, camp, silly and thrilling",[11] and added that "we could have done this 15 times over, and not had the same show, and it would still have been full of amazing British music". He thought that it should be the "greatest after party" and was "really a celebration of Britishness in terms of [all] the arts". Arnold himself had devoted two years working on the ceremony and had turned down all other work including Skyfall, but said that it was the "most fun" he had "ever had in music".[12] In the handover section Rio aimed to express "multicultural embrace." Daniela Thomas stated that Rio "want to show you how sophisticated we mix things, what we do with the things you believe we are, how we mix with pop culture."[13]
The representation of the Union Flag used as an arena centrepiece was designed by Damien Hirst to celebrate the "anarchy and diversity of British pop art, and by extension the energy and multiplicity of contemporary British culture". Hirst had been approached in November 2011 and agreed to do the design; he called his artwork Beautiful Union Jack Celebratory Patriotic Olympic Explosion in an Electric Storm Painting. 176 photographs made up one centimetre of the stadium artwork with graphic designers having spent three months creating super-high-resolution images before printing.[14]
Some performers had declined to perform, including The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Sex Pistols, Kate Bush and The Libertines.[15][16] According to industry insiders The Who apparently refused twice, and only agreed once they had announced a US tour. The Spice Girls were said to be reluctant to appear, feeling that the event was being staged at minimal cost, before their manager Simon Fuller persuaded them to perform.[16]Noel Gallagher turned down the chance to perform after first being asked to play acoustically and then to mime to "Wonderwall".[17]
The ceremony began after a filmed countdown showing numbers from around London on such locations as road signs, 10 Downing Street and the Palace of Westminster clock tower, with a camera panning up the River Thames over Tower Bridge before turning left towards the stadium. The audience then completed a 10-second countdown to the start of the ceremony, to the chimes of Big Ben. The arena had been transformed into a huge representation of the Union Flag in black and white, with ramps and famous London landmarks such as the London Eye, Big Ben, Battersea Power Station and the Gherkin. Newspaper cutouts on both the set and road vehicles sought to show a "day in the life of London", with words from British literary figures such as William Shakespeare, J. R. R. Tolkien and Poet LaureateCarol Ann Duffy.[19]
At the same time, former British Prime MinisterWinston Churchill (Timothy Spall) appeared at the top of Big Ben and reprised Caliban's "Be not afeard" speech from The Tempest, first read by Victorian icon Isambard Kingdom Brunel (Kenneth Branagh) in the opening ceremony. More paper-covered motor vehicles entered. After Churchill finished his speech, people dressed in newspaper print began to fill the arena, ranging from office workers to school children. The beat of the music got faster and noisier, symbolising the London rush hour. As the noise reached a crescendo, Churchill cried out for all to stop, bringing this section to an end.
The centre of the arena was then cleared to reveal Britain's Got Talent 2010 winners Spelbound, who performed gymnastics to The Beatles "A Day in the Life", were inspired by the idea of a commuter on the way to work, by forming a bed and a London Bus. Ray Davies of The Kinks arrived in a black cab and played "Waterloo Sunset", as Spelbound continued and local school children formed the Thames. The section closed with Sandé reprising "Read All About It (Pt. III)" as a montage of athletes crying in victory or defeat was shown on the screens.
Olympic athletes assembled in the shape of the Union Flag
Greece led the Entrance of the Flags, as all 204 flags filed in to the strains of "Parade of the Athletes" (composed by Arnold) and marched up the central cross of the union flag, with Great Britain bringing up the rear. Meanwhile, volunteer marshals wearing blue suits and blue bowler hats with light bulbs on top marched into the stadium. The athletes then walked in from the several entrances, with some filtering down through the lower stands. At the same time Elbow performed "Open Arms" and "One Day Like This". The volunteer marshals helped to usher the athletes into pens between the ramps of the arena. As the last athletes streamed into the stadium and the flags were moved by volunteers closer to the Olympic flame, a reprise of some of the songs from the opening section was played.
Here Comes the Sun (21:53–22:07)
16 dhol drummers opened this segment as the performers entered carrying 303 white boxes to symbolise every event in the Olympic Games. The drumming merged into the newly recorded version of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)", as performers arranged the boxes to form a pyramid while video highlights from the previous 16 days of competition were shown on the screens.
Six athletes including Katherine Grainger and Katie Taylor presented flowers to six volunteers in a symbolic recognition of the 70,000 volunteers' contribution to the Games. This part of the ceremony was accompanied by The Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun".
A Symphony of British Music (22:07–23:21)
A sculpture of the face of John Lennon at the closing ceremony.
A number of black cabs entered the stadium, five of which lit up with LED lights, each decorated with the Spice Girls' individual trademark emblems, (Posh: sparkling black, Sporty: go-faster stripes, Scary: leopard print, Baby: pink and Ginger: The Union Flag). The Spice Girls emerged from the cabs and performed "Wannabe" and "Spice Up Your Life". Halfway through their performance, they ascended onto the roofs of the cabs and proceeded to race around the stadium whilst singing and dancing from the roofs.
Beady Eye followed by performing Oasis's "Wonderwall". "Mr. Blue Sky" by Electric Light Orchestra was played, introduced by Matt Berry, as a tribute to aviation was performed. Near the end of this song a human cannonball "died" and out rolled Eric Idle, who sang "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life", accompanied variously by nuns on roller-skates (likely a reference to Monty Python and the Holy Grail), Morris dancers (Blackheath Morris and Rag Morris),[22][23] Roman soldiers (a reference to Monty Python's Life of Brian, in which the song was first performed),[24] Punjabi bhangra musiciansdancers (VP Bhangra),[22] and bagpipes (Reading Scottish Pipe Band, led by Pipe Major Ron Paterson) before a human cannonball was fired across the arena.[24]Muse then appeared and proceeded to sing the official song of London 2012, "Survival".[25] In the darkness four trucks with screens on them entered and went to the centre of the stadium. Freddie Mercury then appeared on these and other screens around the stadium. Displayed was a vocal improvisation taken from Queen's 1986 Wembley Stadium concert, before his bandmate Brian May performed part of the "Brighton Rock" guitar solo. May was then joined by Roger Taylor to re-form Queen, as Jessie J, who wore a long yellow jacket in homage to Mercury, accompanied the pair for "We Will Rock You." More fireworks ended this section.
Abraço (Embrace): Um alô do Rio de Janeiro (A hello from Rio de Janeiro) (23:30–23:38)
The end of Rio's segment.
Rio then provided an eight-minute segment to introduce the city and the country to the world, created by a team headed by the International Emmy Kids Awards winner Cao Hamburger and director Daniela Thomas entitled "Abraço" (which means hug or embrace).[25] The showcase presented the Brazilian culture including the annual Rio Carnival and some local traditions such as the city’s relationship with the sea. It began with the street cleaner Renato Sorriso dancing samba joined by sailor Robert Scheidt. The segment continued with a Carnival-eqsue Samba parade as various artists performed, including hit singer Marisa Monte (dressed as Brazilian-African sea goddess Yemanja representing the Brazilian religious syncretism) and the singers BNegão and Seu Jorge, who paid tribute to Chico Science and Jorge Mautner, representing the Manguebeat moviment from Pernambuco state. The modernist composer Heitor Villa-Lobos also received a tribute. Another appearance was by top model Alessandra Ambrósio, representing Brazilian fashion, and by Pelé wearing a Brazilian football shirt with his name and the number 10 on the back and a 3D inflated model of Rio's logo. This segment ended with a big firework display in green and yellow (the national colours).
Closing of the Games (23:38–23:48)
Opening of the Olympic cauldron.
Sebastian Coe and Jacques Rogge then appeared on a stage that was in the form of an arrow pointing towards Rio.[19] Coe thanked all of the people who had helped make the Olympics happen. He said that the volunteers, who received another huge cheer, had the right to say "I made London, 2012". Coe thanked the country for getting behind the Games, and recalled his words from the Opening Ceremony "these will be a games for everyone", concluding "these were a games by everyone." He went on to thank the athletes and say that "the spirit of these Olympics will inspire a generation", before concluding that "when our time came, Britain, we did it right!".[26]
Rogge thanked Coe and his London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games team, saying that they had done a "superb job". He said "we are indebted to so many tonight", thanking the "wonderful volunteers, the much needed heroes of these Games", as well as the British public and the athletes. Rogge said that the athletes had earned the right to be called 'Olympians' due to the fair play and graciousness that they had shown, and he looked forward to the Paralympic Games. Rogge concluded by calling the Games "happy and glorious", before proceeding to close the competition and calling upon the youth of the world to assemble in Rio in 2016, ending with "Thank you, London!".[27][28]
The arms holding the copper petals that formed the Olympic cauldron were part-lowered, and fireworks set off behind; when the smoke had cleared, a phoenix was seen above the flames. Take That then performed "Rule the World". Darcey Bussell followed flying down from the top of the stadium in a guise of a phoenix and was joined by four male principal dancers from The Royal Ballet, Gary Avis, Jonathan Cope, Nehemiah Kish and Ed Watson and over 200 ballerinas,[25][29] who proceeded to perform a dance called 'the spirit of the flame', after which the Olympic Flame was extinguished.
Finale (00:00–00:07)
The closing act of the ceremony was The Who, who performed a medley of the songs "Baba O'Riley", "See Me, Feel Me" and "My Generation" as a montage of images of Games volunteers and Londoners appeared on the big screen. All star performers also appeared on the stage behind the band, while participants in the ceremony also marched through the centre stage towards The Who. The set concluded to massive fireworks set off in the stadium and around the Olympic Park.
Technical aspects
One of the images created with the pixels during the ceremony
A total of 634,500 individual LED pixels were used to create 27 images lasting 75 minutes. The pixels were created by Crystal CG and each animation was constructed by a team of six, whilst a team of eight created the Rio segment. Images, including catwalk models in high-end fashions, drifting clouds over London, and flicking paint onto rooftop canvases, had been shot for the effects.[citation needed]
The broadcast of the Olympic closing ceremony featured 1080p and side-by-side 1080i3D on various TV channels and online.[30][31]
Ratings and reviews
An estimated worldwide television audience of 750 million watched the event.[24] Early data suggested that the British TV audience averaged 23.2 million and hit a peak of 26.2 million at 21.35.[16][32]
The Daily Telegraph commented during the ceremony that, although fun, it lacked "top drawer" performers, and that Annie Lennox was "utterly underwhelming." However One Direction, Jessie J, Tinie Tempah and Taio Cruz "shone", while the Spice Girls "got the exuberant tone exactly right".[33] Tom Sutcliffe writing for The Independent said that it was "slick, impressive, often visually startling" and "eccentric, bewildering – and shameless good fun". He added that "where Danny Boyle's opening show had been a statement of intent and national values, this was an hour-long advert for British stadium rock-show design."[34]
The Guardian writer Michael Billington wrote that he was not sure how to review "a mix of pageant, pop-concert, street-party and presentation ceremony." He added that it communicated the "energy of British popular culture over the past few decades and the gaiety of our Olympic ceremonies." Billington praised Boyle, Devlin and Daldry, who had done a "tremendous job in lending what might have been orthodox Olympic rituals a blast of theatrical vitality."[35] While Alexis Petridis writing for the same paper said that the lack of a "gasp inducing moment" spoilt the show.[36]
NZ Herald's Troy Rawhiti-Forbes wrote that there were "touches of brilliance, beauty, and bewilderment - often at the same time." However he called Russell Brand "tuneless", and during George Michael's performance he thought that "if there had been remote controls here in the stadium, people might have been reaching for them." His "undisputed champions" of the night were the Spice Girls and The Who.[37] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter noted that the show "had something for every generation" and was an "all-star...crowd-pleaser." However he wonders whether non-British viewers would have understood references to The Italian Job and Only Fools and Horses. Rooney concludes that the "Rio preview and the rousing Britpop marathon that preceded it were a reminder that the Olympics are as much about spectacle as sport."[38]
Gary Barlow was called "inspirational, brave and a consummate professional" after performing despite his wife having had a stillborn baby on 4 August.[39] However, George Michael attracted some criticism for singing his new song "White Light" at the ceremony.[32] Critics saw this as shameless promotion. Michael replied that it was his one chance to thank his supporters, which he didn't regret.[40] It was his first appearance since almost dying from pneumonia and "White Light" was about that experience.[41] Appearances by Russell Brand, Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss were also seen as controversial, as their previous behaviour had not always reflected Olympic ideals.[41]
International broadcast issues
United States broadcaster NBC was criticised for its coverage in a Forbes article by John Clarke, who emphasised the omission of performances from Ray Davies and Muse, as well as the delay in The Who's performance by an hour to broadcast the pilot of the sitcom Animal Practice followed by the late local news.[42] New Zealand broadcaster Prime TV was criticised for delayed coverage, running 20 minutes behind Sky Sport.[43] In the Philippines, TV5 was criticised because it only aired the first hour of coverage of the ceremony, incorporating highlights into its next morning news programme, Good Morning Club.[44][45]
