Oly: Giant London street party marks Beijing handover

AAP General News (Australia)
08-25-2008
Oly: Giant London street party marks Beijing handover

By Guy Jackson

LONDON, Aug 24 AFP - About 40,000 people including record-breaking swimmer Michael
Phelps gathered today to celebrate 2012 host London taking over from Beijing as the Olympic
city.

The spectators watched the Olympics closing ceremony in Beijing on giant TV screens
set up on the Mall near Buckingham Palace, the official residence of Queen Elizabeth II,
before enjoying a pop concert.

The crowd roared their approval when the big screens showed Mayor of London Boris Johnson
taking possession of the Olympic flag during the ceremony in Beijing.

The cheers grew even louder in London when, in the Chinese capital, English soccer
star David Beckham kicked a ball from the roof of a red London double-decker bus.

The "Party Like It's 2012" event in London, which took place in bright sunshine after
the morning rain cleared away, also featured a fly past by the Red Arrows, the British
Royal Air Force's aerobatics team.

Their jets had swooped over the British capital on the day in July 2005 when London
was awarded the 2012 Games.

The star attraction at the party was American Phelps, who won eight gold medals in
the pool, the highest number ever by one competitor at an Olympics.

He promised that he would be back in Britain in 2012 in search of more gold.

"I still have things that I want to do in the sport, I've never competed over here
in London and I'm looking forward to really experience more of the city and be able to
prepare myself to hopefully swim some fast times," he said.

Olympic handover parties take place in other British cities, including the central
English city of Birmingham, which will host some of the Olympic soccer matches.

The British team's success at the Beijing Olympics, where it won 19 gold medals and
finished fourth in the overall table, has taken many by surprise.

Even the queen has been caught up by Olympic fever - she said she had been following
Team GB's successes "with great interest and admiration".

"As a nation, we now look forward to holding the Olympic games in London in 2012,"

the monarch said in a statement.

"The golden triumphs of the present British team can only serve as further inspiration
to those who will be working hard over the next four years to make the London games a
shining example of Olympic success."

Organisers say the London Olympics will not try and emulate the scale of the Beijing
extravaganza but aim to be a "sustainable" Games which leave a lasting legacy for the
deprived area of east London where they will be based.

AFP vm

KEYWORD: OLY08 HANDOVER NIGHTLEAD

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