NEXT STOP LONDON: A double-decker bus from London navigates the National Stadium
at the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics on August 24

When British football icon David Beckham kicked a ball from the top of a double-decker bus into the crowd of athletes gathered at the National Stadium at the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics to invite them to London, there was no question that London is determined to continue the dream so vividly exemplified in Beijing.

For eight minutes during the closing ceremony on August 24, British performers bicycled, danced and beamed in a dazzling, culture-laden extravaganza. The message was unmistakable: Welcome to the fantastic city of London. Celebrating such concepts as involvement, sustainability, cultural diversity and a focus on young people, London seems poised to stage a unique Olympiad with British characteristics in 2012.

London carnival

The grand show started after Guo Jinlong, Mayor of Beijing, handed the Olympic flag to his London counterpart Boris Johnson.

A double-decker bus entered the stadium, also called the Bird's Nest, followed by British Olympic cyclists dressed as ordinary riders on a London street, with typical London commuters waiting by a zebra crossing.

When the bus pulled in, a British girl got off. Another girl named Erika Tham with Chinese, Canadian, Malaysian and Ukrainian heritage presented her a football marked with the Olympic rings, symbolizing that the Olympic Games are a gift to London from the rest of the world.

The bus then transformed into a privet hedge featuring famous London landmarks such as the Tower of London, Battersea Power Station, the Gherkin skyscraper and St Paul's Cathedral.

In its Olympic bid, London vowed to inspire athletes to deliver their best performances against the backdrop of its world-renowned landmarks. London won its bid to host the 30th Olympiad in 2012 at the 117th session of the International Olympic Committee held in Singapore in 2005.

The 2012 Olympics will make London the first city to host the modern Olympic Games three times. The British capital previously hosted the Summer Games in 1908 and 1948, when the event was considerably smaller. Only 22 nations competed in the fourth modern Olympiad in 1908. The 1948 Games, the first Olympics after World War II, drew athletes from 59 nations.

Britain was fourth in the medal tally for the Beijing Olympics with 19 gold medals, more than double the number four years ago in Athens.

Strategic partners

The hosting of two successive Olympics in Beijing and London presents opportunities for China and Britain to deepen their ties, Chinese President Hu Jintao said in a meeting with visiting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on August 22. China is ready to share its experience in organizing the Olympics, implement the two countries' plans for Olympic collaboration and make it an important new area for their bilateral cooperation, he added.