| Part of 2012 Summer Olympics | |
 | |
| Date | 12 August 2012 |
|---|---|
| Time | 21:00 – 00:11 BST (UTC+1) |
| Venue | Olympic Stadium |
| Location | London, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°32′19″N 0°01′00″W / 51.53861°N 0.01667°W |
| Also known as | A Symphony of British Music |
| Filmed by | Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) |
| Footage | The ceremony on the IOC YouTube channel |
The closing ceremony of the London 2012 Summer Olympics, also known as A Symphony of British Music,[1] was held on 12 August 2012 in the Olympic Stadium, London. The chief guest was Prince Harry representing Queen Elizabeth II. The closing ceremony was created by Kim Gavin, Es Devlin, Stephen Daldry, David Arnold and Mark Fisher. The worldwide broadcast began at 21:00 BST (UTC+1) and finished on 13 August 2012 at 00:11, lasting three hours and eleven minutes.
The stadium had been turned into a giant representation of the Union Flag, designed by Damien Hirst. Around 4,100 people partook in the ceremony; which reportedly cost £20 million. The 2012 Summer Olympics were officially closed by Jacques Rogge, who called London's games "happy and glorious." The ceremony included a handover to the next host city for the 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro and saw the Olympic flame extinguished and the Olympic flag lowered. The main part of the evening featured a one-hour symphony of British Music as a number of British Pop acts appeared. Tributes to John Lennon and Freddie Mercury and the fashion industry were included in the section. Rio marked the handover with an eight-minute section known as "Embrace" created by Cao Hamburger and Daniela Thomas, featuring Pelé. Sebastian Coe gave a speech, and the volunteers of London 2012 were thanked.
An average of 23.2 million viewers in the United Kingdom watched the event, with an estimated 750 million worldwide. Critics were generally positive. There was also a concert in Hyde Park to close the Olympics, featuring Blur, New Order, and The Specials.[2]
- ^ "2012 Olympics closing ceremony: 'A symphony of British music'". The Voice of Russia. 12 August 2012. Archived from the original on 14 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
- ^ "Blur, New Order to Play Olympics Closing Ceremony". Pitchfork Media. 21 February 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2013.