The London 2012 closing ceremony kicked off with a typically British mass singalong Sunday to bring the curtain down on an Olympic Games that have retained the feelgood factor throughout.

The pumped-up 80,000-strong crowd wasted no time getting into the party atmosphere, sending Mexican waves around the bowl as they eagerly waited in anticipation for the show to start.

 

The three-hour spectacle began with New Year-style Big Ben chimes counting down to 9:00pm (2000 GMT).

Britain’s Union Jack flag was laid out in the form of newsprint ramps to the stadium centre, though on closer inspection the story headlines were quotations from classic English literature.

The central stage featured a panorama of the London skyline, including St. Paul’s Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Battersea Power Station, the London Eye observation wheel, the Gherkin, the Houses of Parliament’s clock tower and the Royal Albert Hall.