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London 2012 closing ceremony: The 4th Google doodle of its kind

London 2012 closing ceremony: The 4th Google doodle of its kind

By NDTV Correspondent | Updated: 11 August 2012 21:19 IST

London 2012 closing ceremony is the fourth of its kind to make it to the list of Google doodles featured during the Olympics.

Google has marked the closing ceremony of each of the last three Olympics with a closing ceremony doodle, and London 2012 closing ceremony is the latest addition to the list.

The London 2012 closing ceremony Google doodle shows various "virtual athletes" that had featured during the doodles the preceding 16 days. So we have the female archer, the synchronised swimming team, the shot-put athlete with the armpit hair, the javelin thrower with the long nose, and everyone else making an appearance.

The 2000 Sydney Olympic Games Google doodle depicted a kangaroo standing atop the podium with a gold medal adorning its neck. This was one of the doodles where there's no connection between the Google logo and the depicted figures.

The Sydney Olympic Games closing ceremony commenced with Christine Anu singing a stirring rendition of her hit song, Island Home. She performed with several Aboriginal dancers atop the Geodome Stage in the middle of the stadium, around which several hundred umbrella and lampbox kids created an image of Aboriginal dreamtime.

The Olympic Hymn was sung by soprano Yvonne Kenny. The ceremony also featured performing artists such as Jimmy Barnes, INXS, Midnight Oil, Kylie Minogue, Slim Dusty, Christine Anu, Nikki Webster, John Paul Young, Men at Work, Melbourne-based singer Vanessa Amorosi, Tommy Emmanuel, and pop duo Savage Garden.

The 2004 Athens Olympics Games Google doodle depicted three athletes in traditional Greek attire, purportedly the three medal winners on the podium. The three athletes stood in front of the Google logo.

Around Around 70,000 people gathered in the stadium to watch the Athens Olympic Games closing ceremony, and they were in for a treat. The initial part of the ceremony interspersed the performances of various Greek singers, and featured traditional Greek dance performances from various regions of Greece (Crete, Pontos, Thessaly, etc.). The event was meant to highlight the pride of the Greeks in their culture and country for the world to see.

A young Greek girl, Fotini Papaleonidopoulou, lit a symbolic lantern with the Olympic Flame and passed it on to other children before "extinguishing" the flame in the cauldron by blowing a puff of air. The ceremony ended with a variety of musical performances by Greek singers, including Dionysis Savvopoulos, George Dalaras, Haris Alexiou, Anna Vissi, Sakis Rouvas, Eleftheria Arvanitaki, Alkistis Protopsalti, Antonis Remos, Mixalis Xatzigiannis, Marinella and Dimitra Galani, as thousands of athletes carried out symbolic displays on the stadium floor.

The 2008 Beijing Olympics Games Google doodle was similar to the London 2012 closing ceremony Google doodle, in that "virtual athletes" depicted in doodles during the preceding days found their place in the Google doodle.

Zhang Yimou was chosen to direct the Beijing portion of the closing ceremonies of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, alongside co-director and choreographer Zhang Jigang.

The musical acts included Chinese mainland singer Wei Wei and Sun Nan singing Beijing Beijing (wo ai Beijing), Leona Lewis, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy PageJackie Chan, Karen Mok, Kelly Chen, Joey Yung, Nicolas Tse, Taiwanese American singer Wang Lee Hom, Singaporean singer Stefanie Sun and South Korean entertainer Rain, and many others. Legendary German film composer Klaus Badelt wrote the music for the closing ceremonies.

London 2012 closing ceremony promises to be a treat of its own, with George Michael, Muse, Sheeran and Spice Girls amongst the many acts lined up to perform in what promises to be a mind-blowing extravaganza.

Thanks for joining us for London 2012, do check out other doodles from earlier in the games. See you at Rio 2016!

Olympic Google doodles

For more Google doodles, visit this page.

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