Sunday 12 August 2012

London 2012: Last day of Olympic Games





The 2012 Olympic Games has entered its final day, with the closing ceremony to take place before London hands over to 2016 host city Rio de Janeiro. Fifteen gold medals will be available on Sunday in events including boxing, the men's marathon and basketball. Team GB has won 62 medals, including 28 golds - the latest on Saturday from runner Mo Farah, boxer Luke Campbell and canoeist Ed McKeever. 


The PM said funding for Olympic sports will be maintained at £125m a year. David Cameron said the funding will continue through until the Games in Rio - it had previously only been guaranteed until the end of 2014.


After 16 days of competition at the Olympic Park, plus venues throughout London and other cities, the closing ceremony will begin at 21:00 BST. Once the set has been moved into place on Sunday, between 200 and 1,000 seats for the ceremony will be released for sale online.


Involving 3,500 performers in the Olympic Stadium, artistic director Kim Gavin said the ceremony would be "the best after-show party of all time". During the ceremony, sailor Ben Ainslie, a four-time Olympic gold medallist, will carry the flag for Team GB.


Team GB chef de mission Andy Hunt said: "In becoming the most decorated sailor in Olympic history, Ben has earned the honour of leading our delegation into the closing ceremony of these extraordinary Games."


Mr Gavin said the ceremony, which will focus on 50 years of British music, would be a "mashed-up symphony". Called the Symphony of British Music, the event will showcase "British creativity in the arts" and take people on a musical journey from Elgar to Waterloo Sunset in 30 tracks, Mr Gavin said. Singer George Michael has already confirmed his participation and the Spice Girls and Tinie Tempah are among acts reported to be performing.


The London organising committee, Locog, said the total cost of the four Olympic and Paralympic opening and closing ceremonies stood at £81m, with the opening ceremony costing £27m. Mr Cameron, announcing the sport funding extension, said: "The motto of these Games has been 'inspire a generation'. Nothing has been more inspirational than seeing our elite athletes win gold this summer. There's a direct link between elite success and participation in sport.


"I want one of the legacies of these Games to be our athletes triumphing in Rio in 2016, and in future Olympic Games. Guaranteeing this funding will help ensure that happens." The funding, which will also support Paralympic athletes, will come from lottery and government money.


Team GB enters the final day of competition in third place in the medal table. They have surpassed the medal achievements of Beijing four years ago, and recorded the biggest haul since the London Olympics of 1908. Team GB is guaranteed more medals on Sunday as welterweight Freddie Evans and super-heavyweight Anthony Joshua will contest boxing finals in the afternoon.


World champion Mhairi Spence and world bronze medallist Samantha Murray go for Britain in the women's modern pentathlon, the last gold medal on offer at the Games. There is also British interest in the men's marathon and men's cross-country mountain biking. Elsewhere, USA takes on Spain in the final of the men's basketball at North Greenwich Arena.


And in a swimming pool just 12 miles away from the Aquatics Centre where Olympic golds were won and lost over the past fortnight, former five-time Olympic champion - Ian Thorpe is doing his own bit to boost the event's legacy. He has offered Games enthusiasts free swimming tips at Tooting Bec Lido from 0900 BST.


The revamped 560-acre (227-hectare) Olympic Park site - to be known as the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park - is set to reopen in stages starting on the first anniversary of the opening of the Games, on 27 July 2013.














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