OlderLeona Lewis’ Olympic Closing Ceremony
Leona Lewis performs during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at the National Stadium in Beijing, China.
Jimmy Page and Leona Lewis performed the Led Zeppelin classic ‘Whole Lotta Love’ at the closing ceremony, while David Beckham was also on hand for the event.
In the original, recorded in 1969, Robert Plant sings, “I’m gonna give you every inch of my love.” But in the version that was sung, Lewis, 23, changed the words to “every bit” of my love. The band also agreed to a request from organizers to drop the third verse, which includes similar sexual innuendos, to fit in to the eight-minute performance.
WHAT DID YOU THINK of the Olympic Closing Ceremony?
15+ more pics inside of Leona Lewis‘ Olympic Closing Ceremony…
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61 Comments
I watched it yesterday. Leona has a wonderful voice!
She looks Angham
Reminds me of Angham!
ANGHAM
ANGHAM
ANGHAM
ANGHAM
ANGHAM
ANGHAM
ANGHAM
ANGHAM
ANGHAM
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ANGHAM
ANGHAM
I love her song “Bleeding Heart”. Mark and Chelsie on SYTYCD did an awesome dance routine to it.
Leona is working that dress. She’s fierce.
I’ve been waiting for the closing ceremony since it was announced that London was going to host the 2012 olympics back in 2005. This was pretty cool. Not sure the crowd was so into it though
IT WAS GREAT!!! THE CLOSING, NOT BECAUSE OF LEONNA, BUT EVERYTHING WAS JUST AMAZING!!! I’M AMAZED!!! I THINK THAT 2012 IN LONDON, WON’T BE THIS GOOD!!! I MEAN THE OLYMPICS…
No. 4: isn´t it “Bleeding Love”?
she’s always great.
the sound quality was really bad, but she sounded like she was amazing. i wasnt sure she could pull it off, but it sounded as if it was really really good.
I thought the 8-minute London spot at the closing ceremony was horrific..so vulgar and tacky.
That outfit is HIDEOUS
i watched it i love leonas performance, you should post rains performance also jj <3
Beyonce?
i watched it it was good she was representing london so she sang she has beautiful voice just it wasnt strong enough to hear it well at some points yeah sound quality was really bad she has beautiful eyes and that londond thing wasnt that interesting
apparently it was the speakers guy day off
BEAUTIFUL DRESS!!THAT WAS A BEAUTIFUL CEREMONY!!!
the closing ceremonies were typically cheesy, although i thought china added some class to the whole thing
london’s part was pretty bad - with that whole double-decker bus and those people dancing in the streets and waiting. so tacky. leonna lewis was beautiful but who the heck is she?
I thought the Closing Ceremony was great,as was all of the Olympics.
Leona Lewis is very beautiful and a good singer, Loved seeing the
great Jimmy Page. My favorite.I would have liked to hear him play the guitar, a little longer!
The London-part was just really bad. I am sure they wanted to show something totally different from the rest of the closing ceremony but it was sooo different it just didn´t fit at all.
Plus: Beckham´s part was kinda embaressing…kicking a ball into the stadium and that´s it? Also didn´t get why they made fun of England and its weather as it isn´t that bad in the summer.
The rest was great.
The sound was awful! I could barely hear a word she sang!
It was terrible. What a way to butcher a classic. I’m surprised Jimmy Page agreed to the performance. And who is Leona Lewis by comparison to a rock god?
#10 - I totally agree. The London part was tacky and awful. I love Led Zeppelin, but Leona Lewis singing! No, just no. She was lip syncing badly also. It all just seemed so out of place, even London’s Mayor seemed like a shlump. China did an amazing job. It was classy and artistic. London in 2012 is not even going to come close. It’ll probably be good for the cheese factor though.
i love leonaaaaa
i would love to see her live
I watched it and loved it. I also loved Leona’s dress!
thats a lot of look.
she looks fat in some of the pics
especially the ones side on. she is a fatty
Well it don’t suprise me at all that most would bash the UK, I’m from the UK and think its a total waste of Billions of £ that they are going to spend but seeing as we get a hell of a lot of people from the USA visiting each year and other countries well maybe it will attract more.
Do I think we will do a better job ?
Nope cause we have 1/2 the budget than what they had ! plus it would of been much better set away from London and maybe in the middle of England where its a much nicer place :)
just my 2p as an Englishman :)
Oh and English weather is arhhhhhhhh and remember folks alot of Movies now are 1/2 produced / shot in the UK cause it’s cheaper than the USA cause of tax breaks but it isnt made public what they do :)
Ian UK - I am from NY and was thrilled that we lost out to you guys. Too much hassle! Who needs it, especially when there is chaos even on good days. I also don’t think we are logistically set up for an event as huge as the Olympics. I heard that China spent 40 billion on the games! Athens lost money on the deal, so I can’t imagine China made all their money back. Good luck to you guys in 2012.
i agree the english are being made to pay way more tax than our goveronment said we would have to and truth be told not many of us want it…waay to much money and hassle, plus compared to china and places like america we are about dot size so think how much we are paying compared to what china did. we do though have a different personality and will be having a party, thats what we do best.
I thought the London thing was awful…it was like they sat there and said ‘okay, let’s do a bus’ ‘with grass’ and ‘then it opens’ ‘with umbrellas’ ……..It ws just awful, Leona Lewis looked weird on that pole thing with that dress. It was like a bad school play. I hope they come up with something better for 2012, they need to talk to Cirque de Soleil and get some tips. The Chinese ceremony was beautiful, ethereal. Was she miming? Maybe just the sound delay?
she was lip synching? erm, no she wasnt, the reason you couldnt hear her was because she WASN’T lip synching.
I thought everything was good but the London presentation was pretty bad. Why couldnt they show Shakepearan, Renaisance culture besides the bus?
Yea, the London thing did not fit in with the rest of the show. China’s show was so classy and then the British show up with the double decker bus and a couple of musicians? They probably should have given Beckham more time since he is big now. I was a huge Zep fan in the 70s but is this all that England could come up with to represent them? Also, that mayor was an embarassment. They should have had Patrick Stewart in his stead. Who is organizing the next Olympics. I hope its gonna be better than this foreshadowing.
The English are so cheap and the song is so boring that I can”t remember anything afterwards. No inspiration.
The London part almost made me cry because it was so dreadful. It was extremely ghetto.
The UK is NOT a Third World country!
I feel so sad for Londoners. By the looks of it, they’ll be the laughing stock of the world in 2012.
That London part was horrible. China got thousands of performers to be in sync while London couldn’t get their 20 cheesy and amaturist “performers” to choreograph together. It was odd and really out of place. If this is a preview of the future Olympic, what a disappointment 2012 is going to be!
the worst sound quality on television ever. what were they thinking not linking into the pa system
they are claiming that’s why we got the 2012 olympics, because we will put a “modern spin” on things.
but… the bus? they definitely could have come up with something better than that. it’s like they sat around the conference desk and someone said “yeah lets do the big red bus yadda yadda ya.. is it lunchtime yet?”
and whoever said the english are cheap… you’ve just got gold for that huuuuge sweeping statement
really, i think they were trying too hard to please the masses with leona and beckham. they could and should have been more imaginative.
Leona Lewis is stunning!! What a gorgeous woman — she and David Beckman would make one hell of a couple (if ever gets rid of sour Posh). Too bad the sound system was so poor.
I was so embarassed for the English.
That London 2012 segment was an absolute joke.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
I’m from England and i cringed at the 8 min segment - and Boris Johnson needs a new suit, he looked scruffy
but the 2012 London Olympics doesnt need to match Beijing
China (with all the extravaganza) needed to show the world their image,
to me all they showed was a plastic face - focusing the attention elsewhere
there are still soldiers ruling with an iron fist policing the streets of Tibet
China are still guilty of supplying all the weapons and vehicles to the rebels in Darfur
england sucks .. china RULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLES
and beckham is a LOSER !!
The Chinese did a fantastic job at the closing ceremony. The London part was so lame and boring. The act was like of highschool performance. They were dressed in dark color clothes with black umbrellas like at a funeral. It was awful !!
Leona Lewis was not a good singer either. How can she be a pop star ?Most of the time she did lips synch and her voice was cracked up to no clear sound. Her profile looks like of a parrot ( a bird ) Her song was also horrible, too whinning. It was the time for celebration, not for mourning. Choose some fun, upbeat song for good sake! The guitarist was skillful but he was sweaty like a pig already for the first few minutes. Her London Mayor looked so chubby and country. His hair was not cut!
Are London people going through crisis or something?
It was AWEFUUUUULLLLL.
the shiznack @ 08/25/2008 at 8:54 pm I’m from England and i cringed at the 8 min segment - and Boris Johnson needs a new suit, he looked scruffy
but the 2012 London Olympics doesnt need to match Beijing
China (with all the extravaganza) needed to show the world their image,
to me all they showed was a plastic face - focusing the attention elsewhere
there are still soldiers ruling with an iron fist policing the streets of Tibet
China are still guilty of supplying all the weapons and vehicles to the rebels in
=====================================
We are smart enough to distinguish between a show and politics.
China did show the effort to host a show but that does not mean people around the world forget its political policty domestically or internationally.
As for China selling weapons to Danfur, we do know. We also so know London and the US also sell weapons to other countries where warfare is going on.
But let’s not talk about that and talk about the Olympics alone, your presentation alone!
Did you guys think of anything better than that misfit performance? Usually European people like you guys are good at fashion, designs, arts. What happened at the Olympics presentation? You guys got 4 years to think of the topic and could not think of anything else?
Your London mayor did not bother to have a hair cut ?
She was pretty terrible. You couldn’t even hear her and she looked foolish singing rock n roll in a ball gown.
i agree with you #47.
i was thinking exactly what u just said when i read #42 post.
> there was no need to get so defensive and start attacking the beijing olympics about government policy. this is purely about the OLYMPICS.
the olympics IS a show. i think most people do not understand china and its government so it is very ignorant to suggest so.
i thought the chinese did a really good job. i was actually suprised at how well they did.!
the opening ceremony and closing was the best and the venues were really cool.
as for the London performance, i dont think it was very impressive, however i DO think they will have a better show obviously at the 1012 games.
** 2012 games
Obviously, the English are so tight with their money they cut their chance short of creativity.
No one expected extravaganza for the short handover show from the Chinese to the English. But the English presentation was dry, imaginative and uncreative.
They wanted to inject the London pop culture into the modernized world but failed miserably.
Enough said, you London people read other comments and figure that out.
I guess the English would take for granted of the Olympics 2012 because it will be their third time to host the Olympics.
But if you can afford the ticket to get to China may as well buy pretty clothes to dress yourself up.
Someone from the Buckingham palace would do better job at your presentation. How about Prince William instead that Leona Lewis??
Tourists come to London to see the historical monarchy, who cares about the bus stop and whole bunch of bus passengers?
The closing ceremony as a whole was good - not spectacular, but definitely not bad. However - I was quite disappointed with the london segment. It was really tacky and cheesy. I really hope london does a better job next time.
The London part of the closing ceremony was, quite simply, ugly and awful. In contrast to the Chinese performers — shining with joy and pride –the London “inside-out” bus that looked like it was covered with moss was dark and depressing. I felt embarrassed for England.
I was cringing the whole way through. I really hope the person who organised that 8 minute segment and gave it the go-ahead WILL NOT have anything to do with the real Olympics in 2012. It was absolutely APPALLING, and whoever let that happen should be ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES.
Poor Leona did her best, and she did sing well. But you have to understand that an Olympics ceremony is different to a bit of UK telly on a Saturday night. It’s got to be better thought out than that. Boris said there was going to be dancers, from the Royal Ballet, and from Zoo Nation - all we saw were some odd bods dressed up in normal clothes hanging off the bus doing their big hammy faces. And then the door of the bus opens, the cameras close in, we’re all desperately hoping something exciting is going to happen, and then an INDIAN girl walks out, FFS, and walks over a load of people crouching on a pedestrian crossing.
ABSOLUTELY SHOCKINGLY SH*T. LIKE THE LOGO FIASCO. I DREAD TO THINK WHAT THE 2012 CEREMONY IS GOING TO BE LIKE!!!!!!!!!
I think Boris needs to get really involved and make sure he sees a dress rehearsal well in advance, then he can see whether it is a load of crap, which it is likely to be, and get… say….. the drama teacher from my local comprehensive to come down and sort it out and put a better show on than whoever was responsible for that ‘8 minute segment’. Oh my god. And I am really hoping SIMON COWELL is NOT involved - nothing aganist Leona, but as I said before, this IS NOT SATURDAY NIGHT TRASH TV, IT’S THE F*CKING OLYMPICS.
LEona was stunning and she was not lip synching as Chinese singers..Leona performs always live..i saw all her performances ..so leave her alone..til 2012 she will become so famous that you cannot immagine!
The London segment was truly the worst representation of London imaginable! All that poncey dancing around with umbrellas and zebra crossings… as a Brit I found it almost offensive not that that is necessarily how the world perceives Great Britain, but more that that is how we choose to show ourselves to the world. The whole performance rather matched the logo… and I wonder how much it cost?!
wow the londoners need to calm down. i didnt think it was that bad of a performance. i thought it had spunk although the whole raising leona on a pole was a bit tacky
dont worry london. you got 4 years
Hmm… Leona was a laughing stock. She rocked in a ball dress and her voice was messed up. Her hair weave was like a messy bird nest, worst looking than the bird nest stadium shape of the Olympics.
Her ” Bleeding heart ” song is whinny!
She ruined the ceremony!
The girl that won the British Idol is so much better than her. What is her name? She deserved to be a star!
In four years and if they don’t improve then they can have to show by themselves. But first get rid that Leona!
I was confused as watching the performance, not sure what was going on. I had to watch it a second time ( replay of the ceremony at night ) to figure it out.
All of sudden the bus came out and a whole bunch of dreadful looking people reading newspapers and did clown dancing.
Right, the little girl looked awful too ( uncombed hair, dirty looking jogging pants )
Man, the show was very poor presented!
Oh well. at least it was like comic relief.
well,to be honest,many of Chinese are not satisfied with opening ceremony and ,closing ceremony,either.
although lots of people are disappointed with the London segment,others found it wonderful,since Olympic Games belongs to everybody.But i still hold the view that London segment didn’t represent the dignity of Great Britain.
If you muppets think the Chinese did a good job go live there and see what it’s like. Hey we can get 1000 people to bang a drum in time. Yep, it’s all about voltage. You can train a human to do anything if you apply enough voltage.
The London bus was a great idea. It’s an icon. Check out London postcards.
Leona IS a great singer. The sound was messed up but as they had no rehersal in the stadium and no sound check, perhaps she should have mined rather than sing live (all the Chinese mimed, no one sang live). They chose her because she’s young, beautiful a great singer and not only comes from the east end of London where the Olympics will be held but still (unlike most celebs) lives there.
They only had 8 minutes. They did a great version of the national anthem. Yes the bit with the dancers and the girl with the football was a bit pointless but England is about being individual which was why our dancers were a contrast to the army of Chinese droids (Ever seen Starwars and Attack of the Clones?)
They could have used Becks a bit more.
The sound on TV was OK on other networks. I’ve got a copy of NBC’s version and the sound is good.
The people in the stadium loved the performance, there was a huge cheer when both she and Beckham came up out of the bus and a massive cheer at the end.
So what would any of you lot have done in 8 minutes instead? Some fat slob on Talksport wanted Spifires and soldiers there. Yet again showing the world the one thing I don’t want. We Brits do killing well. Hasn’t the world seen enough of the British army and it’s killing?
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