With reference to your Olympic coverage, I wonder how many of the spectators and television viewers concluded that the organisers of the closing ceremony of London 2012 failed to hit the spot in celebrating effectively what is most to be admired and appreciated in our country ("People's Games go out in a blaze of glory", August 13).

One wonders about what a visitor from another planet would have made of it all. The event was essentially a raucous tribute to British pop music over the last few decades. Is that all we wish to showcase on this international stage ? Is that the height of our ambition?

I concede that I am not in the first (or even the second) flush of youth and that may in part account for my lack of empathy with the proceedings. However, I still believe that more could have been made of this rare opportunity. As for the television commentary, not only did it fail to rise to the challenge of imparting information in a relevant and timeous fashion, at times it reached the level of the banal.

A wonderful chance to extol and exhibit the best of British life, culture and values was largely dissipated. I would sum it up as spectacular, colourful and long in pyrotechnics, and at the same time superficial, brash and short in substance. I suppose the litmus test in all of this for many in assessing the success of this event will be the level of gong awarded to the director, Kim Gavin.

Ian W Thomson,

38 Kirkintilloch Road,

Lenzie.

I have enjoyed watching the London 2012 Olympics. With so many medals won it has been a real success.

Not everyone is going to become an Olympic champion. Good luck to those who succeed but young people should not get carried away by thinking this is an alternative to other qualifications and careers.

Apparently, 50% of gold medals were won by privately educated athletes while 50% of the children in London's Olympic area live below the poverty line.

Now we need to come back to earth and ensure that, before the Rio Olympics, sport becomes an all-inclusive activity and child poverty in this country becomes an all-excluded state.

Maggie Jamieson,

37 Echline Place, South Queensferry.

Now that the Olympics are over there can be little doubt we have all enjoyed the event and there is a significant improvement in the public mood over the period.

While I do not doubt the Olympics contributed to this I think it likely that the overwhelming news coverage was a key factor as good news, for once, outweighed the litany of bad news stories that usually dominates.

Is it not possible for our news services to pay a bit more attention to the good news stories that happen around us every day and give them equal prominence?

I am in euro-crisis overload, immersed in vile crime stories, fed up with bankers' greed and duplicity and merely want to hear more about the many acts of human kindness that surround us, the stories of young and old people who overcame major problems and of the young people who are striving to achieve their ambitions.

A positive news agenda would do much to lift not only our spirits but to also improve the chances of economic recovery as happy people are confident people. Business growth is hugely reliant on confidence in the future.

Iain Lawson,

27 Ben Lui Drive,

Paisley.

THE minority voices which would have Scotland divorced from all UK achievement and success have got their retaliation in too early – there has been no attempt by those opposed to independence to capitalise on the outstanding achievements of athletes from all parts of the UK at the London Olympics (Letters, August 13).

What we have had is Olympians expressing their identity as belonging to the UK as well as to Wales (eg, Beth Tweddle), Northern Ireland (eg, the Chambers brothers), Scotland (eg, Sir Chris Hoy and Catherine Grainger) and to England, which provided so many athletes whose success we can celebrate.

In doing so, they are able to enjoy the best of all worlds: their global identities as world-class athletes, their national identities as UK citizens and their cultural identities as individuals. It is how they feel, like most people. And why would anyone want to argue with them?

Peter A Russell,

87 Munro Road,

Glasgow.

I have followed with interest the range of views about the impact of the glorious success of Team GB on the independence debate.

I should make my position clear – I have never believed that the break-up of the Union would be good for Scotland or the rest of Britain. Against that background, I must take issue with C Hegarty's assertion that continued participation in the British Government by sustaining the Union should equate to the demise of the Scottish football team – or the rugby team for that matter (Letters, August 13).

The point is that Team GB was a successful amalgam of the four home nations and this reflects the strength of the Union, while yet retaining the strength of Scottish identity, which Danny Boyle did brilliantly in the opening ceremony.

It follows that there is nothing wrong with cheering on Sir Chris Hoy when he performs in the velodrome on behalf of Great Britain, just as there is nothing wrong with roaring on the Scottish rugby team at Murrayfield when they are playing against England.

Robin Mather,

23f Eskside West,

Musselburgh.

Following the resounding success of Team GB in the Olympics, rumour has it that London is to be renamed Mo-town.

Crispin Longden,

67 Great King Street,

Edinburgh.