LONDON -- With a little British pomp and a lot of British pop, London brought the curtain down on a glorious Olympic Games on Sunday in a spectacular, technicolour pageant of landmarks, lightshows and lots of fun. The closing ceremony offered a sensory blast including rock n roll rickshaws, dustbin percussionists, an exploding yellow car and a marching band in red tunics and bearskin hats. There was a show-stopping reunion of the Spice Girls and a comedy sequence featuring Monty Pythons Eric Idle performing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" accompanied by Roman centurions, Scottish bagpipers and a human cannonball. It was all delivered in a psychedelic mashup that had 80,000 fans at Olympic Stadium stomping, cheering and singing along. Organizers estimated 300 million or more were watching around the world. What a way to end a games far more successful than many Londoners expected. Security woes were overcome, and traffic nightmares never materialized. The weather held up, more or less, and British athletes overachieved. It all came with a price tag of US$14 billion -- three times the original estimate. But nobody wanted to spoil the fun with such mundane concerns, at least not on this night. "We lit the flame, and we lit up the world," said London organizing committee chief Sebastian Coe. "When our time came, Britain, we did it right." International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge declared the Olympics over with praise for the athletes. "Through your commitment to fair play, your respect for opponents, and your grace in defeat as well as in victory, you have earned the right to be called Olympians," he said, adding "these were happy and glorious games." But the night was about splash more than speeches. Festive and fast-moving, the ceremony opened with pop bands Madness, Pet Shop Boys and One Direction, a shout-out to Winston Churchill and a tribute to the Union Jack -- the floor of Olympic Stadium floor arranged to resemble the British flag. Monochrome recreations of London landmarks were covered in newsprint, from Big Bens clock tower and Tower Bridge to the London Eye ferris wheel and the chubby highrise known as the Gherkin. Street percussion group Stomp built the noise into a frenzy, and dancers brandished brooms, in a nod to the spontaneous popular movement to clean up London after riots shook neighbourhoods not far from Olympic Stadium just a year ago. Liam Gallagher performed "Wonderwall," a 1990s hit by his former band, Oasis, Muse rocked the house with the hard-edged Olympic anthem "Survival," and Queen guitarist Brian May was joined by singer Jessie J for a crowd pleasing "We Will Rock You." And there still was more to come. The Who was expected to take the stage at the end of the three-hour paean to British pop, and to the countrys triumphant turn hosting the games. The headline performers were each paid a pound, a little more than $1.50. Prince Williams wife, Kate, and Prince Harry took seats next to Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee. They sang along to "God Save the Queen." But perhaps the best seats in the house were for the 10,800 athletes, who marched in as one, rather than with their nations, symbolizing the harmony and friendship inspired by the games. As the crowd cheered their heroes and flashbulbs rippled through the stadium, the Olympians cheered back, some carrying national flags, others snapping photographs with smartphones and cameras. They held hands, embraced and carried each other on their shoulders, finally forming a human mosh pit on the field. Soccer star Christine Sinclair, known for her serious, focused demeanour on the pitch, was absolutely beaming as she brought the Canadian flag into Olympic Stadium with the nations other flag-bearers. The rest of the Canadian contingent followed soon after, dressed in denim jackets and khakis. Canadas outfits received mixed reviews on Twitter, with some planning to purchase their own jackets and others decrying the getup as stereotypical. "Amazing. Great to walk in all together with many nations and athletes," said Canadian chef de mission Mark Tewksbury during the ceremony. "The pageantry of the flags coming into the stadium really made it sink in for me. We are being bombarded with great British pop." The ceremony had something for everyone, from tween girls to 1960s hippies. The face of John Lennon appeared on the stadium floor, assembled by 101 fragments of sculpture, and just as quickly gave way to George Michael. Muse, Fatboy Slim, and Annie Lennox all performed. There was no sign of Queen Elizabeth II, who made a memorable mock parachute entrance at the July 27 opening ceremony. Eight minutes were turned over to Brazil, host of the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, which promises an explosion of samba, sequins and Latin cool. Following tradition, the mayor of London handed the Olympic flag off to his Rio counterpart. Britons, who had fretted for weeks that the games would become a fiasco, were buoyed by their biggest medal haul since 1908 -- 29 golds and 65 medals in all. The United States edged China in both the gold medal and total medal standings, eclipsing its best performance at an Olympics on foreign soil after the Dream Team narrowly held off Spain in basketball for the countrys 46th gold. "Its been an incredible fortnight," said Coe, an Olympic champion in his own right. While the games may have lacked some of the drama and grandeur of the Beijing Olympics in 2008, there were many unforgettable moments. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt became an Olympic legend by repeating as champion in both the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints. Michael Phelps ended his long career as the most decorated Olympian in history. British distance runner Mo Farah became a national treasure by sweeping the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races, and favourite daughter Jessica Ennis became a global phenomenon with her victory in the heptathlon. Female athletes took centre stage in a way they never had before. American gymnast Gabby Douglas soared to gold, the U.S. soccer team made a dramatic march to the championship. Packed houses turned out to watch the new event of womens boxing. And women competed for Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei for the first time. And then there was Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee from South Africa running on carbon-fibre blades, who didnt win a medal but nonetheless left a champion. And sprinter Manteo Mitchell, who completed his leg of the 4x400 relay semifinal on a broken leg, allowing his team to qualify and win silver. Britons seemed exhausted and exhilarated after two glorious weeks in the worlds spotlight, and just months after the country celebrated the queens 60th year on the throne with a magnificent pageant and street parties. Some at Olympic Park acknowledged happy surprise that not much had gone wrong, and so much had gone right. "I was a bit worried we wouldnt be able to live up to it," said Phil Akrill of Chichester. "But walking around here its just unbelievable." Even non-Brits were proud of their adopted homeland. "Its just been a really nice thing to see," said Anja Ekelof, a Swede who now lives in Scotland. "The whole country has come together." coach outlet ." Valentine said Buchholz had gone to the hospital recently to deal with the problem and has not been with the team the past two days. Boston is planning to activate Aaron Cook from the 15-day DL to start Sunday against the Braves. coach outlet online . Balazs is also the first Canadian to gain a spot in an Olympic marathon swimming race. Canada had no entries in 2008 when open water swimming made its Olympic debut in Beijing. http://www.coachfactory-outl... .H. -- Jeff Gordon came into the media centre after winning the pole in New Hampshire and found that the moderator was not yet at his post. [url=http://www.coachfactory-outletstoreonline.com/]coach store online outlet .Y. -- Buffalo quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has the full trust and confidence of his teammates and coach Chan Gailey in preparing to open his second season as the teams starter. coach purses outlet . The 36-year-old Konerko has been feeling concussion symptoms since Tuesday when he was elbowed in the head by Kansas Citys Jarrod Dyson during a close play at first.Winnipeg Jets forward Evander Kane apologized Wednesday just hours after a picture he posted on his Twitter account caused a stir. Earlier in the day, Kane posted a picture of himself in Las Vegas with stacks of wrapped dollar bills. In his right hand, Kane used the stack as a fake phone. "Hey @FloydMayweather pick up your phone cause Im callin #imdifferent," Kane posted. The image of an NHL player posing as such was unsettling to Twitter users, as the NHL lockout sits in its 95th day. "I didnt mean to offend anybody or ruin anybodys day," Kane told Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun. "It was more of a joke." Kane, who is a big boxing fan, explained that he was trying to reach out to Mayweather.dddddddddddd"It was taken by a bunch of people in the wrong context," he told the Sun. Kane also said he understands how the image would offend some people, especially those indirectly affected by the lockout. "I totally get that point, I understand it," he said. "But it had nothing to do with the lockout or my views on it. "Everybody is affected by this lockout. Its not like were on strike. We would love to be able to play hockey right now." Kane signed a six-year $31.5 million contract with the Jets in September before the lockout began. ' ' '