The most successful Olympic Games in history

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The tears of joy and anguish are over for the athletes at the Olympic Games. All that's left now is the closing ceremony, which starts later this evening.

The most successful Olympic Games in history comes to a close Sunday night, leaving behind a legacy of accomplishments that would be difficult to duplicate four years from now when London hosts the next Olympics. With China spending $ 40 billion to host the Games, nothing was left to chance to make this the most lavish, most colorful and biggest Olympics ever. If the opening ceremony is a yardstick, tonight"s closing will expectedly be a memorable one, too. Songs, dances and revelry will be at the forefront of the celebration as athletes and officials co-mingle without the formality and seriousness of the opening night. The Olympics will be remembered not only for the spectacular opening made grander by advances in computer engineering, that would be hard to duplicate, for sure, but also for the mind-boggling accomplishments of the athletes for which these Games will also be remembered.