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13 August 2012, 09:26 | Updated: 13 August 2012, 10:45
The Olympic Games was bought to a close with performances from Tinie Tempah, Queen and Emeli Sande.
One Direction, Jessie J, Queen, Ed Sheeran and The Spice Girls were just some of the many artists who took to the stage last night (12th August) at the Olympic Stadium to celebrate the end of the London 2012 Olympic Games with a star-studded closing ceremony.
The past several weeks had seen an enormous number of rumours flying around about which acts would be performing at the much hyped closing ceremony, directed David Arnold and Kim Gavin, and the three-hour live show was expected to be viewed by an estimated 900 million people around the world.
Scottish singer Emeli Sande kicked off the opening ceremony with a piano-accompanied performance of 'Read All About It', as she performed from a custom-built stage designed to feature several of London's biggest landmarks, such as Big Ben and the London Eye.
After a short performance segment which featured actor Timothy Spall giving a speech as former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, ska band Madness appeared to perform their memorable hit 'Our House' backed by a number of volunteers staging street parties in the stadium, which was followed by Pet Shop Boys performing 'West End Girls'.
One Direction then burst into the Olympic Stadium on the back of a moving trailer to belt out their worldwide smash single 'What Makes You Beautiful', receiving one of the biggest cheers of the evening.
Harry, Zayn, Liam, Louis and Niall stepped off their trailer onto a platform for the middle section of their breakthrough hit, before returning to the trailer for a final victory lap of the arena.
Check out a picture of One Direction performing live below (Credit: PA):
The cast of London musical Stomp then arrived for a lively performance, which was closely followed by 2010 Britain's Got Talent winners Spellbound. following which The Kinks frontman Ray Davies emerged from a London black cab to lead the crowd their the band's signature song 'Waterloo Sunset'.
'Heaven' singer Emeli Sande arrived back into the stadium for her second performance of the night following which Elbow sang both 'Open Arms' and 'One Day Like This' as the flag bearers of the countries participating in the Olympic Games entered the arena followed by all of the athletes who performed at London 2012.
After the athletes parade and the medals presentation for the men's marathon event, fans were treated John Lennon's 'Imagine' after which Wham singer George Michael sang the 1984 hit 'Freedom' and his new single 'White Light'.
'Ruby' rock band Kaiser Chiefs burst into the venue on the back of a procession of scooters to belt out The Who's 'Pinball Wizard', after which a convoy of trailers dropped off supermodels including Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and David Gandy for a short segment of the Olympic Games closing ceremony to celebrate the world of British fashion.
After Annie Lennox's pirate-inspired performance of 'Little Bird', Ed Sheeran then emerged onto the stage backed by several of the country's biggest musicians including Pink Floyd's Nick Mason, Genesis' Mike Rutherford and The Feeling's Richard Jones.
The 'Lego House' singer led the thousands in attendance through an emotional rendition of Pink Floyd's 1975 song 'Wish You Were Here', which saw a man crossing a tightrope suspended above the stadium for the song's climax.
Russell Brand was a surprise addition to the line-up when he drove through the stadium to perform 'Pure Imagination', from the 1971 musical Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, as well as The Beatles hit 'I Am The Walrus'.
The Olympic Stadium then erupted as Jessie J, 'Pass Out' rapper Tinie Tempah and R&B star Taio Cruz all performed in quick succession, belting out their respective hits 'Price Tag', 'Written In The Stars' and 'Dynamite'.
The three pop stars then joined each other at the front of the stage for a joint performance of the Bee Gees' 'You Should Be Dancing', which followed a short set by Fatboy Slim of his signature track 'The Rockafeller Skank'.
Girl Power was then reignited to celebrate the end of the Olympic Games as Geri Halliwell, Mel B, Mel C, Emma Bunton and Victoria Beckham emerged from brightly-lit taxi cabs to reform as the Spice Girls.
The iconic nineties girl band led the audience through two of their biggest this, 'Wannabe' and 'Spice Up Your Life', while performing atop their taxis for the crowds.
View a picture of The Spice Girls performing live below (Credit: PA):
The memorable closing ceremony then featured Liam Gallagher joined by his band Beady Eye to sing the classic Oasis song 'Wonderwall', as well as a comedic performance of 'Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life' by Monty Python star Eric Idle.
UK rock band Muse took the the stage next for a powerful performance of their official Olympics song 'Survival', after which Jessie J joined Queen's Brian May to lead the thousands-strong audience through 'We Will Rock You', as the stadium erupted into the song's signature claps.
Check out a picture of Jessie J performing 'We Will Rock You' with Queen below (Credit: PA):
After the Olympic flame was officially passed on to the mayor of Rio De Janeiro Eduardo Paes, ready for the Olympic Games there in Brazil in 2016, Take That emerged for one of the penultimate performances.
Despite much speculation surrounding their appearance, Gary Barlow joined bandmates Howard Donald, Mark Owen and Jason Orange for a firework accompanied rendition of 'Rule The World', before The Who closed out the London 2012 Olympic Games closing ceremony with several hits culminating in their 1965 signature song 'My Generation'.
The London 2012 Olympic Games Closing Ceremony playlist:
Emeli Sande - 'Read All About It'
Madness - 'Our House'
Pet Shop Boys - 'West End Girls'
One Direction - 'What Makes You Beautiful'
The Kinks - 'Waterloo Sunset'
Elbow - 'Open Arms'
Elbow - 'One Day Like This'
Kaiser Chiefs - 'Pinball Wizard'
Annie Lennox - 'Little Bird'
Ed Sheeran feat. Pink Floyd - 'Wish You Were Here'
Jessie J - 'Price Tag'
Tinie Tempah - 'Written In The Stars'
Taio Cruz - 'Dunamite'
Jessie J, Tinie Tempah and Taio Cruz - 'You Should Be Dancing'
Fatboy Slim - 'The Rockafeller Skank'
The Spice Girls - 'Wannabe'
The Spice Girls - 'Spice Up Your Life'
Beady Eye - 'Wonderwall'
Eric Idle - 'Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life'
Muse - 'Survival'
Jessie J feat. Queen's Brian May - 'We Will Rock You'
Take That - 'Rule The World'
The Who - 'My Generation'