Olympic gala!

Olympic gala!

After two weeks of inspiration and brilliance, after the guts and grit of British athletes being all that they could be, the big Olympics show came to a close. The event saw a thrilling performance by One Direction, George Michael plugging his new single, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell looking sulky and Russell Brand being a walrus. The Olympics closing ceremony was meant to be a celebration of this country’s musical heritage. In the chaos of the opening numbers, vehicles covered with newsprint drove around the track and Timothy Spall, dressed up as Winston Churchill, shouted at everyone. And then came George Michael. For a brief moment, all was well in Olympic land. Sporting a groovy set of silver fox whiskers, George blasted through Freedom, his class and experience as a stadium rocker set him apart from the pack. Then, for his second number, he chose to promote a new song rather than sing one of his crowd-pleasing classics. This was shortly followed by a dreary fashion tribute as Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell and Georgia Jagger came sashaying in a fashion parade as they minced around in their tinfoil ballgowns. “The athletes are loving it,” said the BBC’s Hazel Irvine. However, it was the Spice Girls who made for a fizzing pop highlight of this largely mimed show. Geri Halliwell was in a Union Flag peplum, Baby looked sweet, Scary’s bust gets scarier by the day and Sporty had the best outfit, reported the Daily Mail. “Even Posh managed to get through their numbers without too many grimaces, the tracks sounded great and the girls themselves looked marvellous on top of their taxis — if anything, even better than they did back in the dawn of Spice. How cheering!” Also much talked about was the performance by Jessie J in a banana suit. — Agencies