About 40,000 flag-waving people gathered in front of Buckingham Palace for a party to celebrate the hand over from Beijing, as the British capital got its first chance to show what it hopes will be a quirky, personal and fun approach to the games.
As music played from a huge stage erected next to the ornate gates of Queen Elizabeth II’s official London residence, even the police indulged in a brief, embarrassed dance when invited to by the master of ceremonies—a sight difficult to imagine in China.
The spectacle was short of the scale and coordination that has wowed athletes, officials and fans alike in Beijing over the past two weeks. But in terms of conveying what London has to offer to visitors when the Olympics arrives, the show did its job. Even the summer weather lived up to its reputation, providing warm sunshine and cooling showers in equal measure.
London organizers have long known they would be unable to match Beijing in terms of scale, not least because London’s Olympic budget is less than half of its predecessor’s.
But Sunday’s show—with its occasional awkward pauses, high spirits and relentless audience participation for dance-offs, competitions and the wave— suggested London is set on providing a total contrast to what has been described as Beijing’s “no-fun games.”
In a city with a long history of music hall entertainment, it was appropriate the crowd was entertained by some of British television’s most popular entertainers.
While big screens showed Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and football star David Beckham live at the official ceremony in Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Stadium, less internationally recognized names such as operatic quartet Il Divo, boyband McFly and Will Young—the first winner of Britain’s Pop Idol TV show—took to the stage in central London.
Many of the performers seemed as excited as the crowd.
Organizers have promised to hold a more relaxed Olympics, which was already on display in Beijing when Johnson was unable to contain his excitement as he prepared to receive the Olympic flag from IOC president Jacques Rogge. After saluting the crowd, Johnson stood clenching and unclenching his fists in a “give it to me” gesture as he waited to grab the flag.
The London crowd laughed appreciatively at the mayor, who is depicted in the British media as the latest in a long line of lovable bumbling figures of fun.
As Johnson waved the flag, more flags were raised at 650 buildings across Britain to mark London becoming the Olympic city. Another 80 were raised in British sites, such as embassies, around the world.
British cyclist Bradley Wiggins, who won two gold medals in Beijing, said Britain’s surprising fourth-place finish in the medal table helped contribute to a party atmosphere.
Phelps and Wiggins were cheered on stage, but some of the biggest response from the London crowd didn’t have anything to do with what was unfolding in their own Olympic city. They were reserved for Beckham’s appearance in Beijing.
“The eyes of the world have been on Beijing for the last two weeks as they have staged one of the most spectacular and uplifting Olympic Games ever,” London 2012 deputy chairman Keith Mills said. “For a short amount of time today, however, the world stopped and considered what’s coming next.”
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