Then the grinning former England captain, who had started the day by watching his friend Kobe Bryant help the United States beat Spain in the final of the basketball tournament to win the gold medals, kicked the ball off the top of the bus into the hands of a delighted Games volunteer, who immediately hugged it close so no-one could get it off him.

 

Beckham, who has played in some of the biggest football occasions on the calendar, admitted to being nervous but proud that the Games were coming to London, close to where he was brought up in the East End.

 

He said: "I had a dream I dropped the ball when I was holding it last night.

 

"We will be ready and will will make it a special place like it has been here in Beijing.

 

"We will make it a very special event for everybody around the world."

The £2.5 million London segment was woven into a spectacular closing ceremony that wrapped up a £20 billion Games designed to showcase China's might, modernity and sporting prowess.

 

A ring of fireworks exploded round the rim of the stadium.

 

Two giant drums were hoisted into the sky with two pairs of suspended drummers thumping out a hypnotic beat.

 

The stadium was turned into a kaleidscope of glittering colours with 200 acrobats taking giant leaps and somersaulting across a stage on spring-heeled stilts.

 

Launching a huge party to wrap up the greatest sporting show on earth, thousands of athletes poured in from all four corners of the stadium, blowing kisses and waving flags.

 

Jacques Rogge, the President of the International Olympic Committee, refuses to follow his predecessor and call each Games the "best ever".

 

Instead, he called Beijing's "truly exceptional".

 

Britain's eight-minute chance to tell the world what the London Games would offer the world in 2012 featured guitarist Jimmy Page, who launched into the riff from "Whole Lotta Love".

 

He was joined in the Led Zeppelin classic by X Factor winner and chart-topping singer Leona Lewis.

 

The Queen had also sanctioned a choral version of "God Save The Queen" backed by lush string arrangements.

 

Johnson, his normally dishevelled blond hair carefully coiffed for the occasion, took over the Olympic Flag and waved it proudly, especially after Britain's best gold medal performance for a century.

 

He will bring the flag back to London on Tuesday and fly it outside City Hall alongside the Paralympic flag when those Games have concluded in September.

 

He will also display the flag at a major celebration in Beijing tonight for athletes, organisers, senior politicians including Prime Minister Gordon Brown, spectators and the media.

 

 Johnson said: "I'm profoundly humbled by the immense privilege I've been given today.

 

"I'm also intensely proud.

 

"Proud of the athletes who pulled in the best medal tally for decades.

 

"Proud of the people behind them who've delivered this stunning success.

 

"And proud beyond all that London is now in charge of the Olympic legacy.

 

"The next Summer Games return to a country which I frequently boast has either invented or codified just about every major world sport.

 

"We will draw on that heritage and we will draw on our wit, flair, imagination and ingenuity to build on what we've all witnessed in Beijing and deliver a fantabulous Olympics in what I consider to be not only my home, but the home of sport. Sport is coming home."

 

Sebastian Coe, the London 2012 chairman, said: "This is a moment we have waited for since we won the bid and the entire London 2012 team is celebrating along with the UK .

 

"The closing ceremony was, as expected, spectacular and a fitting end to an inspiring Games. 

 

"I thought our eight-minute contribution was executed superbly. 

 

“We will enjoy the moment and celebrate accordingly, but we know we have much to do to plan a fantastic Games.

 

"What we have witnessed in Beijing is a truly spectacular Olympic Games and in terms of Team GB, a fantastically successful one. 

 

"We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to build on this moment. “ 

 

Martin Green, the organiser of London's segment, said: "This is a short, sharp shock that fires the starting gun for London."

 

The closing ceremony of the Olympic Games was beamed from the Bird's Nest in Beijing to millions back home in the UK , many of whom were watching the show in front of big screens at towns and cities across the country. 

 

In London , the show was watched by 40,000 people on The Mall who were gathered for the Visa London 2012 Party, featuring top UK music acts, to celebrate the Games coming to Britain .   

 

The star attraction at the party was Michael Phelps, the 23-year-old from the United States, 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.

 

Phelps told the crowd: "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."