'Festival of Flame' to close Paralympic Games

Saturday 8 September 2012

Tomorrow's Paralympic Games closing ceremony will take on a festival feel - featuring flames, armed forces personnel and a legion of "travellers", games bosses revealed today.

Organisers partially lifted the veil on the content of the show, dubbed the Festival of Flame, within the Olympic Stadium.

British chart-toppers Coldplay - who were paid £1 for the honour of providing the musical backbone for the ceremony - will play an "unusual setlist" designed to represents the seasons of the year.

But organisers refused to confirm whether American artists Jay-Z and Rihanna would be among those joining Coldplay on stage.Director Kim Gavin, who was also behind the Olympic closing ceremony, said: "We pay tribute to the human spirit for this wonderful sport and human achievement of the last two weeks."We have put together a unique group of people who storm the stadium, and bring this festival to life. The whole night is the celebration of the flame finally going out."More than 1,000 volunteers joined Coldplay for a rehearsal of tomorrow night's festivities at a car park in Dagenham earlier this week.Gavin added: "There is no narrative. It's not just a concert and we're not just looking at Coldplay, we have fantastic visuals and amazing stunts going on. It is a collaboration all round."Steve Daldry, head of Olympics ceremonies, confirmed other recording artists had wanted to be involved in the closing ceremony, but said Gavin had a vision for it to "revolve around one act"."Those requests have been turned down," he said. "We're not telling which special guests will be turning up."And he stressed: "This is not just a Coldplay concert, by any stretch of the imagination. It is very much about festivals. Perhaps we (Britain) are the most enthusiastic about our culture of festivals and bringing people together, marking ends with festivals, beginnings, seasons of the year."Hinting at some of the show's content, Gavin said it would be "less 'spangly', more raw, [with] more flame and more about the people".He said a group of "travellers" would also be involved in "storming the stadium".The athletes are on the field of play when the show begins, and is due to include armed forces personnel who are involved in unveiling the Union flag before the national anthem.Members of the Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy who helped with security during London 2012 have also been invited to attend the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games.Daldry said: "I think that unveiling the Union flag with the (armed forces charity) Help For Heroes will be devastatingly emotional. I think that it is appropriate that they should be there at the very start and the very centre of the ceremony. We reveal the flag for the national anthem in a special way."

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'Festival of Flame' to close Paralympic Games

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