COMMONWEALTH GAMES CLOSING CEREMONY: Glasgow gives glittering send off with musical spectacular at Hampden Park

  • Lulu and Deacon Blue help close ceremony as Games are handed over to 2018 hosts Gold Coast in Australia
  • Pop goddess Kylie Mingoue also performed at event in Glasgow and sang a number of hits
  • Athletes who took part in Games emerge from almost 700 tents dotted throughout Hampden Park stadium
  • Glasgow 2014 chairman Lord Smith of Kelvin praises athletes who 'gave it their all' and says: 'Thank you'

By Gavin Mccafferty, Press Association

It was billed as 'All Back To Ours' - a closing ceremony that owed its theme to the Glasgow tradition of extending a good night out at someone's house after closing time.

Well, you know you've had a good night out when you end up getting Kylie Minogue back to your flat.

She probably wouldn't get the luxury of singing seven interrupted songs in a row at an after-hours Glasgow tenement party but she was afforded that privilege at Hampden, Scotland's most iconic sporting venue, as the city celebrated a memorable 11-day sporting festival and passed the Commonwealth Games baton over to the 2018 hosts, the Gold Coast in Kylie's native Australia.

VIDEO Scroll down to watch some of the best bits from the Closing Ceremony of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games

Spectacular send off: Glasgow waved goodbye to the Commonwealth Games with an incredible closing ceremony at Hampden Park on Sunday evening

Spectacular send off: Glasgow waved goodbye to the Commonwealth Games with an incredible closing ceremony at Hampden Park on Sunday evening

Plenty to shout about: Scottish singer Lulu performed her 1964 hit 'Shout' to kick off the ceremony as athletes from across all of the nations taking part swarmed the stadium and ran to the stage

Plenty to shout about: Scottish singer Lulu performed her 1964 hit 'Shout' to kick off the ceremony as athletes from across all of the nations taking part swarmed the stadium and ran to the stage

Colourful scene: Athletes and city workers piled into the stadium as Lulu kicked off the showpiece on Sunday evening at Hampden Park

Colourful scene: Athletes and city workers piled into the stadium as Lulu kicked off the showpiece on Sunday evening at Hampden Park

Musical royalty: Pop goddess Kylie Minogue took centre stage following the handover of the 2018 Games to Gold Coast City

Musical royalty: Pop goddess Kylie Minogue took centre stage following the handover of the 2018 Games to Gold Coast City

Entertainer: Australian pop star Minogue is surrounded by male dancers during her performance in the Scottish capital on Sunday night

Entertainer: Australian pop star Minogue is surrounded by male dancers during her performance in the Scottish capital on Sunday night

In doing so, Scotland's biggest city closed its Glasgow 2014 experience on a typically inclusive and outgoing nature as the city basked in the glory of what Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive Mike Hooper had earlier termed the 'standout Games in the movement's history'.

Okay, he might say that to all his party hosts but he will surely find agreement among a sizeable chunk of the thousands of athletes and the people who bought more than 1.2million tickets to the sporting action, as well as millions more television viewers.

Scottish sport has never witnessed anything like these Games and the bulk of the Hampden crowd were not just celebrating the successful staging of the Games but a Team Scotland performance that shattered all records, provided stories that touched the heart and success that prompted tears of joy among athletes and spectators alike.

Glasgow 2014 organisers had consistently promised an athlete-centred Games and the stars of the show were involved right from the start, bursting out of tents to the strains of Lulu, who even showed signs of rediscovering her Glasgow accent for the occasion.

Thankfully the earlier torrential rain had subsided, or many might have been tempted to remain under cover.

The sporting stars remained at the heart of the action, but the ceremony continued with a musical thank-you to the thousands of volunteers - the so-called Clyde-siders - and city workers whose work behind the scenes allowed the Games to be such a success.

Proud moment: Rhythmic gymnast Francesca Jones of Wales receives the David Dixon Award during the closing ceremony for the Glasgow 2014

Proud moment: Rhythmic gymnast Francesca Jones of Wales receives the David Dixon Award during the closing ceremony for the Glasgow 2014

Lollipop lady: City Workers entered the stadium during the closing ceremony for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and were thanked for their work during the eleven-day long event

Lollipop lady: City Workers entered the stadium during the closing ceremony for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and were thanked for their work during the eleven-day long event

Spectators: 40,000 piled into Hampden Park for the closing ceremony at Hampden Park in Glasgow and were treated to a musical showpiece from the likes of Lulu and Kylie Minogue

Spectators: 40,000 piled into Hampden Park for the closing ceremony at Hampden Park in Glasgow and were treated to a musical showpiece from the likes of Lulu and Kylie Minogue

What a performance: Members of Sunday's cast get ready ahead of the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony in Glasgow's Hampden Park

What a performance: Members of Sunday's cast get ready ahead of the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony in Glasgow's Hampden Park

Break the night with colour: An audience member watches the show as flags are waved during the ceremony

Break the night with colour: An audience member watches the show as flags are waved during the ceremony

VIDEO Glasgow see out 'outstanding' Commonwealth Games  

Deacon Blue's crowd-pleaser Dignity - a song about a council worker who realises his dream of owning a boat - providing a fitting accompaniment as dozens of road workers, lollipop women, firefighters, paramedics and the like walked out under a banner with the age-old slogan 'Let Glasgow Flourish'.
The speeches saw CGF chairman Prince Imran declare the event 'in every aspect the best Games ever', the resultant cheer dwarfed only by his praise for Team Scotland's performance.

After the Games were declared over and the Gold Coast gave its glimpse of what to expect in four years, it was over to Kylie.

Everyone's favourite former Neighbours star, complete with a headdress that would have seen her struggle to get past the bouncers in most Glasgow nightclubs, began a set that formed the backdrop to what was described as a Glasgow love story.

It moved through stages such as 'the chase' and 'the smooch', which came after the ultimate romantic gesture seen on Sauchiehall Street on a Saturday night - men throwing away their bags of chips to form a physical alliance with their respective partners.

Athletes from around the Commonwealth nations joined in and looked on, some no doubt more than a touch bemused, as hundreds of performers acted out routines ranging from ceilidh dances to the Slosh, a type of line dance strongly favoured by drunk aunties at Scottish weddings.

About 1,000 people recreated the scene of adolescent innocence from cult 1981 Scottish comedy Gregory's Girl where two young would-be-lovers lie on their backs and dance to the sky.

And the party ended just like any other late-night Glasgow gathering - with lashings of nostalgia and emotion - as folk singer Dougie MacLean performed Caledonia, which details an exiled Scot's homesick longing for his homeland.

Auld Lang Syne finished off the night as Glasgow bade farewell to some of the best times in its history - already a memory but one that will never be forgotten by anyone who was lucky enough to be involved.

Big hit: 80s pop group Deacon Blue, who originated in Glasgow, performed their hit 'Dignity' at the closing ceremony at Hampden Park on Sunday night

Big hit: 80s pop group Deacon Blue, who originated in Glasgow, performed their hit 'Dignity' at the closing ceremony at Hampden Park on Sunday night

All-rounder: Hurdler Sally Pearson took to the stage with singer Jessica Mauboy as the Commonwealth Games were handed over to Gold Coast City for the 2018 event

All-rounder: Hurdler Sally Pearson took to the stage with singer Jessica Mauboy as the Commonwealth Games were handed over to Gold Coast City for the 2018 event

Goodbye: The farewell rounded off in the only way a Scottish party could - with a mass performance of Auld Lang Syne featuring Kylie Minogue, Lulu (both pictured) and the rest of the ceremony's performers

Goodbye: The farewell rounded off in the only way a Scottish party could - with a mass performance of Auld Lang Syne featuring Kylie Minogue, Lulu (both pictured) and the rest of the ceremony's performers

VIDEO Glasgow a 'stand-out Games' - Hooper  

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