The President of the International Olympics Committee Jacques Rogge has described the Beijing Games as "truly exceptional".
Speaking at the closing ceremony this evening, Rogge's pronouncement was met with a big cheer from the largely Chinese crowd.
"Through these Games the world learned more about China and China learned more about the world."
"New stars were born, stars from past games amazed us again. We share their joys and their tears and we marvelled at their ability. We will long remember the achievements we witnessed here," he said.
"To the athletes tonight , you were true role models. You have shown us the unifying power of sport. The Olympic spirit lives in the warm embrace of competitive rivals from nations in conflict."
"Keep that sprit alive when you return home. These were truly exceptional Games." The Beijing Olympics closing ceremony opened to spectacular cacophony of fireworks which burst over the National Stadium at precisely 8pm.
The two-hour show - which has the theme of "harmony, friendship and joy" - featured a cast of thousand and even more fireworks.
It included a parade of the athletes and a special segment in which London, the next host of the Olympics in 2012, gave us a taste of things to come.
A central part of the event involves the appearance of performers representing China's 56 minorities.
The paegant began under cloudy skies and in humid conditions in the 91,000 capacity National Stadium - also known as the Birds Nest.
Outside, there wass a tighter than usual security cordon around the area. Organisers ae making double sure that nothing goes wrong to spoil the finale to China's Olympics.
Organiser say 19 composers created 30 hours of music for the closing ceremony which began with a swarm of drummers assembled in the middle of stadium.
The drummers signalled the world to come together under the Olympic flag.
Two giant drums with drummers clinging on were suspended above and scores of silver bell dancers entered the stadium. Eight drum carts then entered the stadium, pushed the green men in the LED (light emitting diode) suits we saw at the opening ceremony.
They were followed by performers riding 60 light wheels - hugh mono-cycles. Next up were eight performers on rotating poles, followed by 200 on futuristic prosthetic bouncing legs.
That performance lasted for about 15 minutes and directly after that, the athlete flag bearers - including Australia's Stephanie Rice - entered the stadium from two directions.
Unbelievably, there are hundred of empty seats in the stadium - for an event is supposed to be sold out.
The closing ceremony is a much more informal affair than the opening and the athletes came dressed accordingly. Steve Waugh was out there with the Australian crew and gave a thumbs up and a flashed a big grin - big for him - for the cameras.
The Chinese basketballer Yao Ming - who stands out even in this crowd - posed for a photo with the captain of the Opals, Lauren Jackson who also gave him a big hug.
The simultaneous entrance of the athletes was an idea hatched by a 17-year-old Chinese-Australian boy called John Wing who wrote to organisers during the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.
Allowing the athletes to enter the stadium together, he wrote, would "make these games even greater".
The stadium floor quickly filled with athletes, performers and scores of scarf-waving attendants - recycled cast from the opening ceremony.
It was more chaotic than orchestrated and six Australians dressed in team uniforms burst though the line of scarf-wavers setting off an impromptu victory lap of the stadium.
The first official portion of the ceremony came with the awarding of the medal for the men's marathon which was won earlier today in a Games record time by Kenya's Samuel Wanjiru.