The London 2012 Olympic Games culminated last night (Sunday, August 12) in a spectacular closing ceremony with music at its heart.
Appearances from iconic British acts included The Who, George Michael, Take That and the Spice Girls with an official closing ceremony soundtrack being made available immediately after the celebration was over.
The ceremony was watched by 10,000 athletes and 80,000 spectators in the Stratford Olympic Stadium and an estimated global audience of four billion.
Virgin/EMI artist Emeli Sande was the first singer to perform – she appeared again later on in the show and once more in the closing credits of the three-hour ceremony.
Madness, Pet Shop Boys and One Direction performed during the Street Party chapter of the show, followed by Ray Davies and Emeli Sande in the Waterloo Sunset section and Elbow performed One Day Like This during the Parade of Athletes.
George Michael then kicked off the segment dubbed A Symphony of British Music with Freedom and his new single White Light. He was followed by Kaiser Chiefs, Annie Lennox, Ed Sheeran with Nick Mason, Richard Jones and Mike Rutherford.
Next up was DJ Fatboy Slim then a group performance from Jessie J, Tinie Tempah and Taio Cruz before the highly anticipated Spice Girls reunion performance.
Beady Eye followed with Wonderwall, Eric Idle with Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, Muse with the official Olympics song Survival and Brian May.
The last performances of the night came courtesy of The Who and Take That.
Artistic director Kim Gavin, London 2012 Olympic Games Closing Ceremony Artistic Director, said:“I was lucky because Seb Coe basically just asked me to put on a party, a celebration of London and the UK. To me the sport was always the main event, and I wanted to create a great after show party for the athletes, the volunteers, the spectators and people watching around the world.
“My approach, just like any party, was to start with the music. We wanted the Ceremony to reflect on UK music and how good and global British music is.”
Music from the closing ceremony became available moment after it finished. A Symphony of British Music – Music For The Closing Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, was digitally released on Decca Records/UMC and follows the dedicated opening ceremony album Isles of Wonder – Music For The Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games which, within seconds of release after the ceremony, had registered in the top 10 download chart in 42 countries.
Universal is music licensee for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Richard Hinkley, general manager of Universal Music Catalogue said: “It isn’t only in sport that the UK punches above its weight and the success of Isles of Wonder has already shown the global appetite for British music and creativity. Releasing A Symphony of British Music just as the closing ceremony finishes allows viewers the opportunity to keep the songs ringing in their ears for even longer.”
Dickon Stainer, president of Decca Records said: "This album features the music which closes the event of a lifetime - like the Opening Ceremony music, it is unique."
Full tracklisting:
CD1
1. Urban Voices Collective – Because
2. Julian Lloyd Webber, LSO, Stomp feat. Timothy Spall– Salut d’Amour
3. Madness – Our House
4. Massed Bands Of The Household Division – Parklife
5. Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls
6. Ray Davies, Urban Voices Collective, LSO – Waterloo Sunset
7. Emeli Sandé – Read All About It
8. David Arnold – Parade Of Athletes
9. Elbow, LSO, Urban Voices Collective– Open Arms
10. Elbow, LSO, Urban Voices Collective – One Day Like This
11. Kate Bush – Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God Remix)
12. Toby Pitman, David Arnold, Pete Lockett, Rahda Meta, Prabhat Rao, Varun Verma, Bilwa Iyer, Urban Voices Collective, Eos Chater, Tania Davis, Elspeth Hanson, Gay-Yee Westerhoff - Here Comes The Sun
13. David Arnold – Medal Ceremony
14. Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody (Excerpt)
CD2
1. John Lennon, Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Choir – Imagine
2. George Michael - White Light
3. Kaiser Chiefs – Pinball Wizard
4. David Bowie – Fashion
5. Annie Lennox – Little Bird
6. Ed Sheeran, Nick Mason, Mike Rutherford, Richard Jones, David Arnold – Wish You Were Here
7. Russell Brand, LSO – Pure Imagination
8. Russell Brand, Bond - I Am The Walrus
9. Fatboy Slim – Right Here, Right Now
10. Fatboy Slim - The Rockafeller Skank
11. Jessie J, Tinie Tempah, Taio Cruz – Medley: Price Tag / Written In The Stars / Dynamite
12. The Bee Gees featuring Jessie J, Tinie Tempah, Taio Cruz – You Should Be Dancing
13. The Spice Girls – Medley: Wannabe / Spice Up Your Life
14. Eric Idle – Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life
15. Muse – Survival
16. Queen– Queen Medley: Day-O / Brighton Rock
17. Queen and Jessie J We Will Rock You
18. The London Welsh Male Voice Choir, The London Welsh Rugby Club Choir, LSO – Olympic Anthem
19. LSO - Extinguishing The Flame
20. Take That - Rule The World
21. David Arnold – Spirit Of The Flame
22. The Who – Baba O’Riley
23. The Who – See Me Feel Me / Listen To Me
24. The Who – My Generation
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