LONDON — They were a captive audience at first. No longer at play, the world’s athletes returned to Olympic Stadium, some gilded, others in desperate need of relief, and stood corralled in eight groupings as a parade of supermodels and Spice Girls seized the stage. After being held in place by volunteers for more than an hour Sunday night, small groupings of athletes broke out, off to celebrate away from the Closing Ceremony’s unwieldy, yet colorful, performances that concluded the third Games hosted by England. They could not outrun the far-reaching afterglow of the Games, though, as fireworks lit the sky and sound carried into the night. “When our time came, Britain, we did it right,” said Sebastian Coe, the organizing committee chairman. Sixteen days of gold, silver and bronze were celebrated in the three-hour concert. Sound waves washed over the crowd, carrying a hopeful message as the flame was extinguished at midnight. Brazil, the next host of the Games, in 2016, accepted responsibility for the future, introducing itself as a dance-happy culture that will offer spirited contrasts to the English approach that worked so well. “london olympics 2012″ “closing ceremony” “brazil” “london” “Rio de Janeiro” “show” “Rogge” “speech” “International Olympic Committee” “Rio de Janeiro” “Cultural performances” “Firework”
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