Olympics to end on a 'high note'

The Beijing Olympics will end later with a closing ceremony featuring the best of British rock, glamour and sport. Rock legend Jimmy Page and singer Leona Lewis will star in the eight-minute slot for London, while footballer David Beckham will also be involved to mark the handover to London for the 2012 Games. The set will kick in after London mayor Boris Johnson receives the Olympic flag in the handover ceremony, and starts with a red London double decker bus driving around the Bird's Nest stadium being pursued by Team GB cyclists Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton and Shanaze Reade. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who spoke of his hope that a UK football team could compete in the next Olympics, will also attend the closing event. On arriving in Beijing, Beckham said he believed the London Olympics in 2012 would be even better than the spectacular events this year. The England footballer said Team GB's astonishing medal haul will spark a wave of interest in taking part in sport. Beckham said: "I'm an East End boy and I'm proud that it's happening in London. I was very proud to be involved in the first place bringing it back to England and to London. It's going to generate so much interest in sport and kids are already getting excited about it. "We have seen what the Chinese have done here and I'm sure we will better that, without a doubt." Team GB won three more medals with boxer James DeGale leading the way by winning the men's middleweight title on Saturday. The 22-year-old Londoner came out on top in a hard-fought contest with Cuban Emilio Correa at the Workers' Stadium. The boxer's gold medal followed other success for British athletes on the penultimate day. Kayaker Tim Brabants, who already has a gold from this summer's Games, won bronze in the men's 500m race while Sarah Stevenson took bronze in a dramatic +67kg taekwondo contest to become Britain's first ever medallist in the sport. A good luck message from the Prime Minister was not enough to help Britain's teenage diving sensation Tom Daley on to the podium. Daley, 14, from Plymouth, finished 7th in the 10 metre platform final at the Water Cube. Team GB has had its most successful Olympics for a century. Britain currently lies in fourth place in the medal table behind China, USA and Russia, after notching up 19 gold medals, 13 silver and 15 bronze to make a total of 47 medals.

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ITN | August 24, 2008

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