LONDON — With the closing ceremony well under way, those in the stadium said the mood was “electric.” But elsewhere — namely, the Twittersphere — some of the closing ceremony magic was lost on observers. From the choice of musical acts (a boy band?!) to the sets to the soundtrack (on repeat?), journalists and British personalities were having a field day trashing the spectacle. Some, like The Guardian's Jonathan Haynes, welcomed the negativity, calling it a return of sorts to regular British cynicism. “Two weeks of pent-up cynicism is flooding across Twitter in glorious waves. Thanks (hashtag)closingceremony :),” he wrote. We'll leave you to find others, and there are some gems of snark and hilarity. Just browse (hashtag)closingceremony. 26.3m viewers The BBC says its live television coverage of the Olympic closing ceremony peaked at 26.3 million viewers. The broadcaster said in a message posted to Twitter Monday that coverage on its flagship terrestrial channel, BBC1, peaked at 26 million Sunday night. High-definition and 3D coverage added about 300,000 viewers to the total. The figure was slightly down on the opening ceremony which kicked off the games on July 27. The Danny Boyle-directed opening extravaganza drew 26.9 million viewers at its height. Fashion forward London's fashion sense has always avoided matchy-matchy — but the closing ceremony brought that sensibility to a whole new level. Muse was blinding in a black glitter suit, while Jessie J belted out Queen's songs in a one-legged taupe glitter catsuit. Russell Brand sported tight purple-and-black striped pants with his top hat as he gyrated (and sang! who knew) while Annie Lennox crooned in a black lace shawl over a red “Oliver”-like bordello dress. Not exactly office wear. A dash of spice The Spice Girls were back. They were slightly less sporty and some of them were a little bit more posh. But their reunion set British tongues wagging for weeks with rumors all over the tabloids. Many of the athletes and much of the audience will have grown up with the sound of the platform-wearing quintet, myself included. The biggest cheer of the night, and by far. Even Posh has put away her pout. US boss' favorite moments Just got off the phone with Scott Blackmun, CEO of the USOC, and asked him for his favorite moment during an Olympics in which his team won more medals (104) and golds (46) than anyone. Surprisingly, his answer had nothing to do with any of those victories. Instead, he pointed out a pair of fourth-place performances — by Sarah Groff in triathlon and Margaux Isaksen in modern pentathlon. Each missed the podium by only a couple of seconds. These are athletes who train in almost total obscurity in sports in which the Americans have very little history of Olympic success. “You watch them train for four years and come within an inch of the medal and barely miss it, but deal with it so gracefully,” Blackmun said. “It's an inspiring thing to watch. Real cool.” ‘Doing the bolt' The wax version of Usain Bolt was by far the most popular draw at Madame Tussauds Sunday. “He's the best Olympian ever,” said Michael McGregor, after the family bypassed David Beckham and British Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton. “He's a character — and we love his pose. We really rooted for him. And Jessica Ennis.” The British runner and gold medalist may have been one of the faces of the Games — but there was nobody there waiting to see her figure, draped in the Union Jack. Loaded phrase How loaded is that phrase “living legend?” IOC President Jacques Rogge wants to set the record straight: Usain Bolt is an “active” legend and the best sprinter ever. Rogge raised eyebrows earlier this week when he said the Jamaican runner needed to prove his greatness over more than two Olympics before reaching his self-proclaimed status of a “living legend.” On Sunday, Rogge relented a bit. “This is purely a semantic issue,” he said. “Usain Bolt is an active performance legend, he is an icon, he is the best sprinter of all time.” Bolt won the 100 and 200 meters at the London Olympics — the first athlete to sweep both events at consecutive Games, and anchored the Jamaican team to a world record in the 4x100-meter relay Saturday night. After that relay, Bolt asked: “The next time you see him (Rogge), I think you need to ask him what Usain needs to do that no human man has ever done?” Games over The London Olympics have ended. IOC President Jacques Rogge just pronounced them closed. “We will never forget the smiles, the kindness and the support of the wonderful volunteers, the much-needed heroes of these Games. You, the spectators and the public, provided the soundtrack for these Games,” Rogge says. He added: “You have shown the world the best of British hospitality.” And this: “These were happy and glorious Games.” He concluded: “I declare the Games of the 30th Olympiad closed.” Next stop for the Summer Games: Rio 2016. — Agencies
