The 2012 London Olympics will come to a spectacular close tonight with one of the most magical and dynamic shows ever staged in the capital. The Closing Ceremony – with top priced tickets costing £1,500 – is set to be every bit as gripping and eclectic as the amazing opening show two weeks ago. Highlights will be performances from Queen, Jessie J, Madness, George Michael, One Direction,  Pet Shop Boys, Take That and Darcey Bussell, while the Spice Girls will appear together again. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Rehearsals: The Spice Girls perform on top of black cabs in preparation for their appearance in the Olympics Closing Ceremony . Wannabe: Victoria Beckham, Mel B and Emma Bunton rehearse for their starring role in the curtain closer for the Games . Comeback: Victoria Beckham (left) and Geri Halliwell prepare for the hotly anticipated performance from the Spice Girls at tonight's show . The three-hour-long ceremony, billed as a . Symphony Of British Music and featuring 4,000 performers, begins at 9pm . and a record worldwide TV audience of one billion is expected to tune . in. The spectacle will be . 'the best after-show party that's ever been', according to artistic . director Kim Gavin. He added that the bonanza will be the 'disco after . the wedding'. Mr Gavin promised something 'completely different' from Danny Boyle's opening ceremony . 'My . approach was to say, ''let's not over think it''', he told the Sunday . Telegraph.  'Let's have a party, I don't want anyone to say ''I don't . understand this''. Olympic profile: Chart toppers Take That were also rehearsing for the ceremony, while Jason Orange (right) seemed to be getting in to the spirit of the Games . Best seat in the house: Russell Brand takes a seat alongside stadium riggers as he prepares for a possible appearance in the ceremony . 'If I had been doing the opening ceremony I would have had a different approach. We have been so absorbed over the last two weeks, we want something fresh.' Set designer Es Devlin said the two-and-a-half hour show 'has to make sense in Bognor and Bogota'. 'People all around the globe will be able to watch the show and remember where they were when they first heard a particular song,' she added. Olympics mastermind Lord Seb Coe refused to anoint the games 'the best ever,' in the phrase former International Olympic Committee chief Juan Antonio Samaranch used to describe almost every games. But he declared himself 'very, very pleased.' He said the closing ceremony did not aim to be profound, not even the irreverent romp through British history offered by Boyle's $42 million spectacle on opening night. Viva Forever! The Spice Girls were spotted rehearsing for their much-anticipated reunion ahead of the Olympics closing ceremony . Belting it out: Victoria Beckham, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton, Mel C and Mel B are sure to delight their millions of fans with the performance . The theme for the close, Lord Coe said, could be summed up in three words. 'Party. Party. Party.' In a second cause for celebration for Lord Coe, he was today given a role by PM as the 'legacy ambassador' tasked with continuing Britain's sporting prowess to Rio in 2016 and beyond. The best seats at the show are for the 10,800 Olympic athletes, who will march in as one and form what Gavin has described as a human mosh pit on the field. The Queen, who made a memorable mock parachute entrance at the opening ceremony, will be on hand. Eight minutes have been turned over to Brazil, host of the 2016 Rio Games, which promises an explosion of samba, sequins and Latin cool. Following tradition, London Mayor Boris Johnson will hand the Olympic flag off to his Rio counterpart. Stars of the Closing Ceremony: Popular singer . Jessie J, left, and sailing hero Ben Ainslie, right, will both take . significant roles in the event . Talent show winners One Direction will also be involved in the closing ceremony... a highlight for the millions of teenagers watching . George Michael was also pictured practicing in Dagenham ahead of Sunday's ceremony . There will also be speeches by . International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge and London . organizing committee chief Sebastian Coe, and the extinguishing of the . Olympic flame. The Queen and . the Duke of Edinburgh will be in the Stadium along with the Duchess of . Cambridge and Prince Harry and other members of the Royal Family to . watch the flag handover ceremony. Britain . had its biggest medal haul since 1908, and will finish third in the . medals table. While the United States was poised to edge China in both . the gold medal and total medal standings, recapturing the gold-medal . title it lost four years ago. The . ceremony will open with black cabs, scooters, bicycles, dancing . lollipop ladies and umbrella-carrying commuters creating a London . rush-hour, before the performers strip off to reveal Union Jack . swimsuits and sports outfits. Mods on scooters, representing a landmark time in modern British cultural identity, are also set to feature in the showcase ceremony . Madness singer Suggs prepares for his apparent role in the Olympics Closing Ceremony . The Spice Girls will appear on top of London cabs wearing Sporty, Ginger, Scary, Posh and Baby outfits updated by Giles Deacon, the British fashion designer. They will perform their hits Wannabe and Spice Up Your Life. Giant models of London landmarks such as Tower Bridge, the London Eye and Battersea Power Station will create a cityscape, while Ray Davies of the Kinks performs Waterloo Sunset, his love song to London, and Julian Lloyd Webber plays Elgar’s Salut D’Amour on the cello. Hundreds of children and volunteers in costume will recreate the flow of the River Thames. The stages in the Stadium will be  inscribed with extracts from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 (My Mistress’ Eyes), Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, Dickens’s Great Expectations and Boswell’s Life Of Johnson. A giant book will open to reveal the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights. More music will come from Jessie J and rapper Tinie Tempah from the back of a white Rolls-Royce convertible, while comedian Russell Brand is expected to perform a version of the Sex Pistols’ punk rock classic Pretty Vacant from the top of a multi-coloured bus. Prime Minister David Cameron, second from left, watches the athletics in the Olympic Stadium last nigh with Lord Coe, second from right. He has appointed the Games mastermind as 'legacy ambassador' to continue his work after the event . Going for gold: Closing ceremony organiser Kim Gavin says the show will be the 'disco after the wedding' There will be a Pythonesque moment . when Eric Idle sings Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life, while nuns . on roller-skates career around the stage. There . will also be an appearance by the yellow Reliant Regal three-wheeler . van driven by Del Boy and Rodney in Only Fools And Horses. Each . competing country’s flagbearer – Britain’s is gold medal-winning sailor . Ben Ainslie – will then enter the stadium followed by many of the . Games’s 10,000 athletes, marching together rather than by nationality . and accompanied by Elbow’s song One Day Like This. The London Symphony . Orchestra will perform  a suite of British music followed by a screening . of some of the greatest moments from London 2012. Mayor of London Boris Johnson will hand over the Olympic Flag to Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, who is hosting the event in 2016 . The soundtrack to the ceremony features about 30 major British hits from the past five decades. The concert begins with the strains of Bohemian Rhapsody followed by a moving rendition of John Lennon’s Imagine, which is expected to involve the Liverpool Philharmonic Children’s Choir, while Liam Gallagher is scheduled to perform the Oasis hit Wonderwall. Reclusive singer Kate Bush will make an appearance, one of just a handful since her only live tour in 1979. The music of The Beatles, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones and Elton John will also be featured. There will be a fashion show halfway through the ceremony featuring supermodels Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Karen Elson, Stella Tennant, Jourdan Dunn, and Lily Cole, who was seen rehearsing earlier this week. Spectacular: Glowing Olympic rings converge during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games . It is expected that Take That will . play live, although singer Gary Barlow may be replaced by George Michael . after Barlow and his wife lost their baby through stillbirth  last . week. A lone dancer with a . broom,  will symbolically sweep away the remnants of the London Games. Then, when the dancing sweeper reaches the centre of the main stage, . dancers join him from all sides of the stadium to create a Rio-style . carnival. Thomas . Heatherwick’s spectacular cauldron will be extinguished as Darcey . Bussell dances to Spirit Of The Flame, bringing the event to a close – . before rock band The Who perform and the skies above London are set . alight by a spectacular fireworks display. The Closing Ceremony will have a long way to go to better the Opening Ceremony on July 27 . The incredible party will bring an end to an Olympics that has seen a series of sporting feats in Britain's most successful ever Games. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt became an Olympic legend by repeating as champion in both the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints. Michael Phelps ended his long career as the most decorated Olympian in history. British favorite daughter Jessica Ennis became a global phenomenon with her victory in the heptathlon. Female athletes took center stage in a way they never had before. American gymnast Gabby Douglas soared to gold, the U.S. soccer team's made a dramatic march to the championship. Packed houses that turned out to watch the new event of women's boxing. And women competed for Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei took part for the first time. And then there was Oscar Pistorious, the double-amputee from South Africa running on carbon-fiber blades, who didn't win a medal but nonetheless left a champion. And sprinter Manteo Mitchell, who completed his leg of the 4x400 relay semifinal on a broken leg, allowing his team to qualify and win silver.
Jessie J, Madness, Pet Shop Boys, Queen and Kate Bush among those performing .
Organiser Kim Gavin says that if the opening ceremony was the wedding, tonight will be the 'disco after the marriage'
The 2012 London Olympics will come to a spectacular close tonight with one of the most magical and dynamic shows ever staged in the capital. The Closing Ceremony – with top priced tickets costing £1,500 – is set to be every bit as gripping and eclectic as the amazing opening show two weeks ago. Highlights will be performances from Queen, Jessie J, Madness, George Michael, One Direction,  Pet Shop Boys, Take That and Darcey Bussell, while the Spice Girls will appear together again. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Rehearsals: The Spice Girls perform on top of black cabs in preparation for their appearance in the Olympics Closing Ceremony . Wannabe: Victoria Beckham, Mel B and Emma Bunton rehearse for their starring role in the curtain closer for the Games . Comeback: Victoria Beckham (left) and Geri Halliwell prepare for the hotly anticipated performance from the Spice Girls at tonight's show . The three-hour-long ceremony, billed as a . Symphony Of British Music and featuring 4,000 performers, begins at 9pm . and a record worldwide TV audience of one billion is expected to tune . in. The spectacle will be . 'the best after-show party that's ever been', according to artistic . director Kim Gavin. He added that the bonanza will be the 'disco after . the wedding'. Mr Gavin promised something 'completely different' from Danny Boyle's opening ceremony . 'My . approach was to say, ''let's not over think it''', he told the Sunday . Telegraph.  'Let's have a party, I don't want anyone to say ''I don't . understand this''. Olympic profile: Chart toppers Take That were also rehearsing for the ceremony, while Jason Orange (right) seemed to be getting in to the spirit of the Games . Best seat in the house: Russell Brand takes a seat alongside stadium riggers as he prepares for a possible appearance in the ceremony . 'If I had been doing the opening ceremony I would have had a different approach. We have been so absorbed over the last two weeks, we want something fresh.' Set designer Es Devlin said the two-and-a-half hour show 'has to make sense in Bognor and Bogota'. 'People all around the globe will be able to watch the show and remember where they were when they first heard a particular song,' she added. Olympics mastermind Lord Seb Coe refused to anoint the games 'the best ever,' in the phrase former International Olympic Committee chief Juan Antonio Samaranch used to describe almost every games. But he declared himself 'very, very pleased.' He said the closing ceremony did not aim to be profound, not even the irreverent romp through British history offered by Boyle's $42 million spectacle on opening night. Viva Forever! The Spice Girls were spotted rehearsing for their much-anticipated reunion ahead of the Olympics closing ceremony . Belting it out: Victoria Beckham, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton, Mel C and Mel B are sure to delight their millions of fans with the performance . The theme for the close, Lord Coe said, could be summed up in three words. 'Party. Party. Party.' In a second cause for celebration for Lord Coe, he was today given a role by PM as the 'legacy ambassador' tasked with continuing Britain's sporting prowess to Rio in 2016 and beyond. The best seats at the show are for the 10,800 Olympic athletes, who will march in as one and form what Gavin has described as a human mosh pit on the field. The Queen, who made a memorable mock parachute entrance at the opening ceremony, will be on hand. Eight minutes have been turned over to Brazil, host of the 2016 Rio Games, which promises an explosion of samba, sequins and Latin cool. Following tradition, London Mayor Boris Johnson will hand the Olympic flag off to his Rio counterpart. Stars of the Closing Ceremony: Popular singer . Jessie J, left, and sailing hero Ben Ainslie, right, will both take . significant roles in the event . Talent show winners One Direction will also be involved in the closing ceremony... a highlight for the millions of teenagers watching . George Michael was also pictured practicing in Dagenham ahead of Sunday's ceremony . There will also be speeches by . International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge and London . organizing committee chief Sebastian Coe, and the extinguishing of the . Olympic flame. The Queen and . the Duke of Edinburgh will be in the Stadium along with the Duchess of . Cambridge and Prince Harry and other members of the Royal Family to . watch the flag handover ceremony. Britain . had its biggest medal haul since 1908, and will finish third in the . medals table. While the United States was poised to edge China in both . the gold medal and total medal standings, recapturing the gold-medal . title it lost four years ago. The . ceremony will open with black cabs, scooters, bicycles, dancing . lollipop ladies and umbrella-carrying commuters creating a London . rush-hour, before the performers strip off to reveal Union Jack . swimsuits and sports outfits. Mods on scooters, representing a landmark time in modern British cultural identity, are also set to feature in the showcase ceremony . Madness singer Suggs prepares for his apparent role in the Olympics Closing Ceremony . The Spice Girls will appear on top of London cabs wearing Sporty, Ginger, Scary, Posh and Baby outfits updated by Giles Deacon, the British fashion designer. They will perform their hits Wannabe and Spice Up Your Life. Giant models of London landmarks such as Tower Bridge, the London Eye and Battersea Power Station will create a cityscape, while Ray Davies of the Kinks performs Waterloo Sunset, his love song to London, and Julian Lloyd Webber plays Elgar’s Salut D’Amour on the cello. Hundreds of children and volunteers in costume will recreate the flow of the River Thames. The stages in the Stadium will be  inscribed with extracts from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 (My Mistress’ Eyes), Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, Dickens’s Great Expectations and Boswell’s Life Of Johnson. A giant book will open to reveal the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights. More music will come from Jessie J and rapper Tinie Tempah from the back of a white Rolls-Royce convertible, while comedian Russell Brand is expected to perform a version of the Sex Pistols’ punk rock classic Pretty Vacant from the top of a multi-coloured bus. Prime Minister David Cameron, second from left, watches the athletics in the Olympic Stadium last nigh with Lord Coe, second from right. He has appointed the Games mastermind as 'legacy ambassador' to continue his work after the event . Going for gold: Closing ceremony organiser Kim Gavin says the show will be the 'disco after the wedding' There will be a Pythonesque moment . when Eric Idle sings Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life, while nuns . on roller-skates career around the stage. There . will also be an appearance by the yellow Reliant Regal three-wheeler . van driven by Del Boy and Rodney in Only Fools And Horses. Each . competing country’s flagbearer – Britain’s is gold medal-winning sailor . Ben Ainslie – will then enter the stadium followed by many of the . Games’s 10,000 athletes, marching together rather than by nationality . and accompanied by Elbow’s song One Day Like This. The London Symphony . Orchestra will perform  a suite of British music followed by a screening . of some of the greatest moments from London 2012. Mayor of London Boris Johnson will hand over the Olympic Flag to Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, who is hosting the event in 2016 . The soundtrack to the ceremony features about 30 major British hits from the past five decades. The concert begins with the strains of Bohemian Rhapsody followed by a moving rendition of John Lennon’s Imagine, which is expected to involve the Liverpool Philharmonic Children’s Choir, while Liam Gallagher is scheduled to perform the Oasis hit Wonderwall. Reclusive singer Kate Bush will make an appearance, one of just a handful since her only live tour in 1979. The music of The Beatles, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones and Elton John will also be featured. There will be a fashion show halfway through the ceremony featuring supermodels Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Karen Elson, Stella Tennant, Jourdan Dunn, and Lily Cole, who was seen rehearsing earlier this week. Spectacular: Glowing Olympic rings converge during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games . It is expected that Take That will . play live, although singer Gary Barlow may be replaced by George Michael . after Barlow and his wife lost their baby through stillbirth  last . week. A lone dancer with a . broom,  will symbolically sweep away the remnants of the London Games. Then, when the dancing sweeper reaches the centre of the main stage, . dancers join him from all sides of the stadium to create a Rio-style . carnival. Thomas . Heatherwick’s spectacular cauldron will be extinguished as Darcey . Bussell dances to Spirit Of The Flame, bringing the event to a close – . before rock band The Who perform and the skies above London are set . alight by a spectacular fireworks display. The Closing Ceremony will have a long way to go to better the Opening Ceremony on July 27 . The incredible party will bring an end to an Olympics that has seen a series of sporting feats in Britain's most successful ever Games. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt became an Olympic legend by repeating as champion in both the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints. Michael Phelps ended his long career as the most decorated Olympian in history. British favorite daughter Jessica Ennis became a global phenomenon with her victory in the heptathlon. Female athletes took center stage in a way they never had before. American gymnast Gabby Douglas soared to gold, the U.S. soccer team's made a dramatic march to the championship. Packed houses that turned out to watch the new event of women's boxing. And women competed for Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei took part for the first time. And then there was Oscar Pistorious, the double-amputee from South Africa running on carbon-fiber blades, who didn't win a medal but nonetheless left a champion. And sprinter Manteo Mitchell, who completed his leg of the 4x400 relay semifinal on a broken leg, allowing his team to qualify and win silver.
performances from Queen, Jessie J, Madness, George Michael, One Direction,  Pet Shop Boys, organiser Kim Gavin says the show will be the 'disco after the wedding' There will be a during the opening ceremony of the London 2012