One Direction and Spice Girls to Spice Up Olympic Closing Ceremony

Impact

England may have arguably one of the worst climates on Earth, as well as so-so food, but if there is something the British reign supreme in is their killer and legendary music.

That is why it was surprising to witness a London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony with so little time dedicated to displaying the music of Paul McCartney, Queen and all of the other British musical geniuses that have influenced music acts worldwide. Instead, the opening of the London Olympics bored the audiences with Hunger Games-style recreations of the United Kingdom’s pastoral past.

But this Sunday, the London 2012 Olympic Games' organizers have decided to make it up for the a-little-bit-too-British Opening Ceremony (the only questionable part of an otherwise flawless edition of the Games of the XXX Olympiad).

That is why the popular bands One Direction and Spice Girls, along with 1980s icon George Michael and others, have been invited to participate in a Closing Ceremony that promises a much more fun celebration -- "A Symphony of British Music".

Last week, Spice Girls' singer Victoria Beckham – who along with her husband, the famous footballer David Beckham, is one of Britain’s most beloved pop cultural icons – tweeted a picture of a microphone, saying "Look what I found!” while pictures of the 1990s girl group rehearsing on top of five London taxis have appeared in the British press.

The show at the 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium will feature more than 4,000 performers, including 380 schoolchildren. "We want it to be the best after-show party there has ever been," its artistic director Kim Gavin -- a choreographer who has produced some of Britain's biggest events in recent years including a concert for the late Princess Diana in 2007 -- said on Saturday. 

However, and despite her much commented cameo next to James Bond in the Opening Ceremony, Queen Elizabeth II will skip the Closing Ceremony. Perhaps Her Majesty doesn't want to risk looking "unimpressed" and end up becoming a meme