London: As a projection of a giant Agitos on the White Cliffs of Dover heralds the 99 days countdown to what will be a spectacular Paralympic Games, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) announced multi award winning band Coldplay as the star act of the Paralympic Closing Ceremony. The London 2012 Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony, called ‘Festival of Flame’ and starting at 8.30pm on 9 September, will see Coldplay, one of the world’s best selling music acts, take to the stage and perform a live and one off concert in the Olympic Stadium, broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 750 million.
With over 55 million records sold worldwide, number one albums in more than 35 countries and winners of 7 Brit Awards and 7 Grammy Awards, Coldplay are one of Britain’s best-loved bands around the world. Their special performance will mark the closing of the Paralympic Games and the last night of the London 2012 Games.
The band have been working with Closing Ceremonies Artistic Director, Kim Gavin, and Coldplay’s live show co-designer and Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony designer, Misty Buckley, to play a set of their most iconic music alongside a cast of almost 2,000 in the Olympic stadium. Coldplay's music will soundtrack a celebration of Britain's rich culture of festivals – from the ancient to the modern day.
LOCOG further announced that for the first time at a summer Games, all Olympic Games partners have also signed up as Paralympic Games partners. This means a total of 55 partners are now supporting the Paralympics, and their support will be seen by their millions of customers across the UK and beyond.
It has also been announced that the 22 Live Sites across the UK will screen eight hours of live Channel 4 coverage of the Paralympic Games every day from 29 August to 9 September. The Live Sites, run in partnership between London 2012, the BBC and local authorities, will be fantastic places for local communities to get together and cheer on British athletes, as well those from around the world.