Monday Olympic Photo Gallery: The closing ceremony, basketball, pentathlon, handball, rythmic gymnastics, wrestling and more
Yes, the 2012 Summer Olympics in London are over, but Junior Dispatch had to squeeze in one more photo gallery to cover the big final day on Sunday.
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The Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, waves the Olympic flag during the Closing Ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Jeff J Mitchell, Pool)
The London Olympics have ended. IOC President Jacques Rogge just pronounced them closed.
“We will never forget the smiles, the kindness and the support of the wonderful volunteers, the much-needed heroes of these games. You, the spectators and the public, provided the soundtrack for these games,” Rogge says.
He adds: “You have shown the world the best of British hospitality.”
And this: “These were happy and glorious games.”
He concluded: “I declare the games of the 30th Olympiad closed.”
Next stop for the Summer Games: Rio 2016.
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As the London Olympics closed, the next host, Rio de Janeiro, was set to kick off four years of preparations for games that some see as Brazil’s entrance onto the world stage.
Many are bracing for a rocky ride as Rio — a laid-back beach city not known for its efficiency or punctuality — rushes to build four main Olympic sites and undertake a massive infrastructure overhaul.
Rio native Joao Carlos de Figueireiro said that despite the “mess” that was sure to come, he had faith things would work out in the end.
“There are definitely things we need to work on, organization-wise,” said Figueireiro, a 56-year-old barman at a neighborhood cafe. “But we’re experts at pulling rabbits out of hats at the last minute and I’m sure that’s what we’re going to do.”
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Overnight, Olympic Park in London has gone from party central to an empty, blocked-off construction site.
Now that the games are over, the park is eerily deserted. The main stadium is blocked off by metal barriers, concession stands are closed, and the world’s biggest McDonald’s empty. Small groups of construction workers are working to transform the venues for use in the Paralympic Games, which begin Aug. 29.
Olympic Park had been visited by more than 5 million people over the last 17 days.
It will be closed to the public until the Paralympics — and for almost a year afterwards, while some venues are torn down and others are modified. It will open in stages from next summer as the 560-acre (227-hectare) Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
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Now on to the last batch of photos from the 2012 Olympic games in London.
Russia’s Egor Mekhontcev, left, fights Kazakhstan’s Adilbek Niyazymbetov in a light heavyweight 81-kg gold medal boxing match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, in London. Mekhontcev won the gold and Niyazymbetov won the silver. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)
Fans watch as cyclists compete in the Mountain Bike Cycling men’s race, at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, at Hadleigh Farm, in Essex, England. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Silver Medalist Nino Schurter, of Switzerland, competes in theMountain Bike Cycling men’s race, at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, at Hadleigh Farm, in Essex, England. Schurter rode an aggressive race as only two riders, bronze medalist Marco Aurelio Fontana, of Italy, and gold medalist Jaroslav Kulhavy, of the Czech Republic, were able to follow his frenetic pace. The leading trio started to work together to distance the rest of the field, building a gap of 10 seconds after the second lap. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
The team from Russia performs during the rhythmic gymnastics group all-around final at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
The bronze medallist team from Italy performs during the rhythmic gymnastics group all-around final at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
France’s Thierry Omeyer reacts during the men’s handball gold medal match against Sweden at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
France’s Nikola Karabatic (13) and Sweden’s Tobias Karlsson challenge for the ball during their men’s handball gold medal match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
The United States’ Kobe Bryant jumps to score during the men’s gold medal basketball game at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Mark Ralston, Pool)
United States’ LeBron James celebrates after winning the gold medal at the men’s basketball game against Spain at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
United States’ Kevin Durant celebrates after the men’s gold medal basketball game against Spain at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, in London. USA won 107-100. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Athletes run near Big Ben during the men’s marathon at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Athletes run through the Leadenhall Market during the men’s marathon at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
Gold-medalist Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda finishes the men’s marathon at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)
Margaux Isaksen, of United States, competes with horse Puck Glen in the equestrian show jumping stage of the women’s modern pentathlon, at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Aya Medany of Egypt shoots in the combined running and shooting stage of the women’s modern pentathlon, at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Margaux Isaksen, of the United States, left, hunches over after crossing the finish line in fourth place behind bronze medalist Yane Marques, of Brazil, right, in the women’s modern pentathlon at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Croatia’s Paulo Obradovic, top, shoots against Italy’s Amaurys Perez during the men’s water polo gold medal match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Croatia coach Ratko Rudic swims after jumping in the pool to celebrate his team’s 8-6 victory over Italy during the men’s water polo gold medal match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Sergey Grankin of Russia sets the ball during a five set win over Brazil 25during the men’s gold medal volleyball match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
Brazil’s Wallace de Souza, right, spikes the ball past Russia’s Alexander Volkov, left, and Sergey Tetyukhin during a men’s gold medal volleyball match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Ramazan Sahin of Turkey competes with Ikhtiyor Navruzov of Uzbekistan (in blue) during their 66-kg freestyle wrestling match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Jacob Stephen Varner of the United States, celebrates winning against Valerii Andriitsev of Ukraine, at the end of their 96-kg freestyle wrestling gold medal match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Fireworks explode during the Closing Ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 13, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
French athletes Amelie Cazae and Julien Bahain sit after the Closing Ceremony at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 13, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Jamie Gray shows off her gold medal after returning home to the United States. Gray, of Lebanon County, won the medal at the the women’s 50-meter three-position rifle shoot at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. (LEBANON DAILY NEWS EARL BRIGHTBILL)
