What’ll Go Down at the Olympics Closing Ceremony?

Just like with the Opening Ceremony — which rode a wave of geese and sheep and horses and cows and chickens and ducks to critical acclaim — the exact details of the Olympics Closing Ceremony are being kept under wraps. But some idea of what we’ll be seeing on Sunday night has now been unveiled. And it sounds like what the Closing Ceremony will lack in farm animals, it’ll make up for in famous musicians from throughout British history.

THR reports that “A big part of the ceremony — outside the required Olympic formalities of the athletes parade, the medal ceremony for the men’s marathon and the handover to the next host city Rio de Janeiro in four years time — will play out under the name ‘A Symphony of British Music.'” Lucky for London, the Brits have enough of a proud music history to be able to trot out all kind of crowd-pleasing Johnny-come-latelies and veteran pop stars and still squeeze in a bunch of seminal artists for cred points. Already officially booked: Muse, George Michael, The Who, Ed Sheeran, Liam Gallagher’s Beady Eye, One Direction, and the reunited Spice Girls. Possibly on the docket: Kate Bush, Madness, the Pet Shop Boys, Paul McCartney (yes, again), The Kinks’ Ray Davies, Adele, Paul Weller, non–Freddie Mercury members of Queen, and Mick Jagger. (This is all separate from the Hyde Park closing concert, which will feature Blur, The Specials, and Madness). Says Closing Ceremony director Dave Arnold, “if the Opening Ceremony was the wedding, then we’re the wedding reception … [it] should be the greatest after-party in the world.” With all due respect for Dave Arnold and the 2012 London Olympics, the greatest after-party in the world took place last winter at my uncle Rocko’s cabin upstate and featured three BB guns, a jug of Carlo Rossi, and some of the tastiest goddamn turkey bacon you’ll have ever laid your eyes on. But, yeah, this Closing Ceremony sounds pretty good too.

Filed Under: Adele, Mick Jagger, Muse, Olympics, One Direction, Paul Mccartney, Queen

Amos Barshad has written for New York Magazine, Spin, GQ, XXL, and the Arkansas Times. He is a staff writer for Grantland.

Archive @ AmosBarshad