London Olympics 2012 - closing ceremony!

By Francis Saldanha
Bellevision Media Network

11 August 2012: The feast of sports, emotional moments, love for the country and excitement that make up the Olympics culminate in the closing ceremony, the last opportunity to see your favorites in their country formations and to see whatever spectacular surprises the organizers have in store.

 

 

The Olympics Opening Ceremony welcomes the guests and the Closing Ceremony celebrates the achievements and the awards of the participating athletes. The 2012 Summer Olympic Games’ Closing Ceremony is scheduled to be held on 12th August at the Olympic Park.

 

After Danny Boyle’s spectacular Opening Ceremony, all eyes will once again be on the capital as the London 2012 Olympic Games signs off with closing Ceremony packed full of live music and performance. Similar to the opening Ceremony, the Closing Ceremony also provides a sneak peek into the culture of the Host City and UK to the world. It will be a "beautiful, cheeky, cheesy, camp, silly and thrilling" journey through British pop history, its musical director promised and that the ceremony will revolve around a rush-hour London scene and will include replicas of the city’s best-known landmarks.

 

 

The Closing Ceremony not only celebrates the achievements of athletes at the London 2012 Olympic Games, but includes a Handover from one Host City to the next.  London will hand over to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympic Games. The Closing Ceremony also features the extinguishing of the Olympic Flame, signaling the end of the Games.

 

 

The creative aspect of the Closing Ceremony is being handled by Artistic Director Kim Gavin and his team. IOC has specified basic outlines about the events to take place at the Closing Ceremony.
After the Opening Ceremony "Isles of wonder" everyone is waiting for the wonders at the Closing Ceremony. Hence the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games will be titled “A Symphony of British Music”; to celebrate the fact that music has been one of Britain’s strongest cultural exports over the last 50 years.

  

 

As with the Opening Ceremony, there are certain elements that must feature as outlined in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Charter for closing ceremony as well. The closing ceremony must take place in the stadium after the end of all the events. The flag bearers of the participating delegations and the name-board-bearers enter the stadium in single file. Behind them march the athletes, without distinction of nationality. The flag bearers then form a semi-circle behind the rostrum. The President of the IOC and the President of the OCOG mount the rostrum. To the sounds of the Greek national anthem, the Greek flag is hoisted on the flagpole that stands to the right of the central flagpole used for the winners’ flags. The flag of the host country is then hoisted on the central flagpole, while its anthem is played. Finally, the flag of the host country of the next Olympic Games is hoisted on the left hand flagpole to the strains of its anthem.

 

 

The mayor of the host city joins the President of the IOC on the rostrum and returns to him the Olympic flag. The president of the IOC then entrusts it to the mayor of the host city of the following Olympic Games. This flag must be displayed in the latter city’s main municipal building. After an address by the President of the OCOG, the President of the IOC gives the closing speech of the Olympic Games, which he ends with these words:

 

"I declare the Games of the XXX Olympiad closed and, in accordance with tradition, I call upon the youth of the world to assemble four years from now at Rio de Janeiro to celebrate with us there the Games of the XXXI Olympiad".

 

A fanfare then sounds; the Olympic flame is extinguished, and while the Olympic anthem is being played, the Olympic flag is slowly lowered from the flagpole and, unfurled horizontally, carried out of the arena, and followed by the flag bearers. A farewell song resounds.

 

A host of world-class British directors and producers are leading the artistic team to stage the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the London 2012 Games. A total cast of 15,000 will take part in the London 2012 Opening and Closing Ceremonies, which will be watched by an estimated audience of four billion.

 

While you could sink back into the couch alone or with family, it can be a nice gesture to use the closing ceremony as an excuse to throw a party and invite over friends and more family, so that you can all share your various excitement and disappointment over various sporting achievements. Myself being an Indian Olympic contingent supporter like many others, our gold medal hope Sushil Kumar has already carried India’s flag at the London Olympics; now the wrestler carries his country’s hopes of an elusive gold medal.

 

To be continued…