Olympic Closing Ceremony: 30 Songs Were Picked That Define British Music

Have you ever tried to create a playlist that perfectly defines your taste in music? That’s apparently what Olympic closing ceremony director Kim Gavin did with five decades of British music. Thirty tracks were chosen to represent Britain’s “creativity in the arts”, and while the choices have not been made public, Gavin described the range as running between famed English composer Edward Elgar and the Kinks classic “Waterloo Sunset”.

The music mash-up, entitled “Symphony Of British Music”, will bring all the Olympians together to form one giant gathering in front of the stage. If all goes according to plan, however, those will be but a few of the many songs the athletes and the spectators will hear. According to The BBC, George Michael is set to perform sometime during the proceedings, and rumor has it the Spice Girls, Tinie Tempah and several others will join him.

Some awkward moments in the opening ceremony aside, these Olympic Games have been an absolute home run for Great Britain. Its athletes have performed far better than expected. Its citizens have enthusiastically responded by packing every venue and even the weather has mostly cooperated. The closing ceremony is always one of the more difficult challenges for any host nation, but considering all that has gone well, it’s hard not to think Britain will pull it off. I can’t wait to watch, alongside the rest of the world.

Mack Rawden
Editor In Chief

Mack Rawden is the Editor-In-Chief of CinemaBlend. He first started working at the publication as a writer back in 2007 and has held various jobs at the site in the time since including Managing Editor, Pop Culture Editor and Staff Writer. He now splits his time between working on CinemaBlend’s user experience, helping to plan the site’s editorial direction and writing passionate articles about niche entertainment topics he’s into. He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in English (go Hoosiers!) and has been interviewed and quoted in a variety of publications including Digiday. Enthusiastic about Clue, case-of-the-week mysteries, a great wrestling promo and cookies at Disney World. Less enthusiastic about the pricing structure of cable, loud noises and Tuesdays.