The countdown to the London Olympics in 2012 began in earnest yesterday as the Beijing games finished in a spectacular display of fireworks, music, colour and technology.

WILLIAM TINNING,
DOUG GILLON
and DOUGLAS FRASER

The countdown to the London Olympics in 2012 began in earnest yesterday as the Beijing games finished in a spectacular display of fireworks, music, colour and technology.

Chris Hoy, Edinburgh's triple gold-medal track cyclist, carried the Olympic flag for Great Britain at the closing ceremony which was watched by an estimated television audience of more than one billion.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson received the Olympic flag from International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge at the ceremony. It signalled the start of the UK capital's reign as Olympic host city and sparked celebrations in London and designated event cities across the UK.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown promised that the London 2012 Games will be "the best Olympics ever". He said: "Let us go forward to London in 2012 proud of Britain, confident of our athletes, determined to succeed, determined to show the world the best games ever."

Mr Johnson received the Olympic baton in typically flamboyant style - telling the Chinese "ping pong is coming home".

As well as the fireworks in Beijing there were fireworks at home over repeated calls by the Scottish Government for a separate Scottish Olympic team and a demand by Prime Minister Gordon Brown for a Great Britain football team.

Hoy, who was the first Briton for 100 years to win three gold medals at the same Olympics, yesterday dismissed the Scottish National Party's call for a Scottish Olympic team proposed by Sports Minister Stewart Maxwell.

The SNP wants to hold an independence referendum in 2010 - two years before thegames in London.

Mr Maxwell pointed to the success of nations such as Jamaica as proof that small countries can make an impact at the Olympics.

He added: "Scotland can compete on the world stage - we proved that in the Olympics - and a Scottish team is the future."

But hours before he carried the Union flag at the Olympic closing ceremony, Hoy called Mr Maxwell's notion "ridiculous".

The 32-year-old cyclist said he would not have secured three gold medals without being part of Team GB.

"I'm a Scottish athlete who is performing in a British team," he said. "I'm also a British athlete. I haven't been living in Scotland for the last nine years because they've not had the facilities for me to train there - as have Craig Maclean and Ross Edgar and all the other Scottish athletes based there in Manchester, too.

"It's fantastic the British team has done well, and I'm sure up in Scotland they're enjoying our success too, but the bottom line is they need to start investing in sport, way before they can think about anything like that at all."

British Olympic Association chief executive Simon Clegg pointed out that Hoy and oarswoman Glasgow-born Kath Grainger, who won silver in the quad sculls, would not have been part of these teams if Scotland was independent. "Britain would have lost those two medals, and Scotland would not have gained those two medals," he said. Labour said the Nationalists were being petty and should share Britain's pride in Team GB Meanwhile, Cathy Jamieson, Labour's acting leader at Holyrood, yesterday distanced herself from Prime Minister Gordon Brown's call for an all-Britain football team at the 2012 games in London. Mr Brown is determined to see a British team, combining the talents of the four home nations, in both the men's and women's football tournaments and said an approach had been made by Lord Coe to Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson about the possibility of managing the team. He said: "We will see who wants to be part of this and then we will get a manager that everybody will be happy with.

"I think the whole of the country will want, when the Olympic Games is held in Britain, and there's a football tournament where the final is held in Britain, they will want us to have a team in the competition," he said.

Ms Jamieson warned against gambling with Scotland's international status in football competitions and suggested there should be a competition between the four home nations to decide which represents Britain in the Olympics. "Team GB should include a football team, but not at the expense of Scotland's football team."