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London passes Olympic flag to Rio

A policeman clowns with a visitor who strikes a Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt pose outside the Olympic Stadium as Closing Ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics were underway, August 12, 2012, in London, England and a salute to Brazil, where the 2016 Olympics will be held in Rio de Janiero, UPI/Mike Theiler

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Published: Aug. 12, 2012 at 11:50 PM

LONDON, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Britain's Prince Harry Sunday closed the London Olympic Games during a ceremony highlighting the United Kingdom's musical legacy and looking toward Rio in 2016.

The final medals of the Summer Games were handed out during the ceremony according to tradition, with Uganda's Stephen Kiprotich taking gold in the marathon.

The 3-hour celebration included performances from icons of British pop music, including George Michael, Annie Lennox the Spice Girls and The Who, the BBC reported.

Comedian Russell Brand sang the Beatles' trippy 1967 hit "I Am the Walrus," and supermodels Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell represented British fashion in Alexander McQueen creations.

Team Great Britain made its best showing at an Olympics since 1908, taking home 29 gold medals, behind 46 for the United States and 38 for China.

The Olympic flag was handed over to Rio's mayor and the Olympic cauldron -- composed of 204 individual petals representing each country competing at the Games -- was extinguished.

Topics: George Michael, Annie Lennox, Russell Brand, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Alexander McQueen

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