The raucous rock-concert atmosphere of the Closing Ceremony was a lot more joyous and lively and fun than the alternately grim and bizarre opener, which I suppose is appropriate since by this point nobody was stressed out anymore about their hamstrings, their inward three-and-a-half pikes, nor their baton-passing mojo. A parade of musical acts is really the best way to encourage everyone to cut loose and chug from their hip flasks and get frisky and eat forbidden chocolate (not a euphemism — Cadbury’s should’ve been handing out treats to all the athletes at the door).

I think my favorite ongoing theme, though, was People Arriving On Motorized Things, including but not limited to: The Pet Shop Boys, Russell Brand, Fatboy Slim, a woman in a fake skirt made of umbrellas, and The Spice Girls. Let’s do this thing, with the caveat that I still haven’t actually SEEN half of it thanks to that little DirecTV mishap wherein we lost NBC RIGHT BEFORE THE SPICE GIRLS CAME OUT WHY GOD WHY. Ahem. Let us carry on, yes? Presenting: A sampling of images from the show, presented in an order only roughly resembling chronology, which I will call A POX ON MY TV PROVIDER but which they would probably argue is useful artistic license.

[Photos: Getty, and my iPhone]