Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, right, and British pop singer Leona Lewis perform Whole Lotta Love during the closing ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympics at the National Stadium. (Greg Baker/Associated Press)

The closing ceremonies of the Olympic games in Beijing were a glittering display of human energy featuring a universe of stars including Led Zeppelin guitar legend Jimmy Page, Leona Lewis and tenor Placido Domingo, who duetted with Chinese singer Song Zuying.

A volcanic burst of fireworks flashed off the top rim of the National Outdoor Stadium to mark the start of Sunday's ceremony.

After an army band played the Chinese national anthem, hundreds of dancers, acrobats and drummers swirled onto the field in a carnival-like display of movement.

An eight-minute segment marking the handover to London, which will host the Games in 2012, had soul sensation Lewis and Page on top of a red double-decker bus rocking to Whole Lotta Love. The sexually-explicit song had to be amended to satisfy Chinese censors.

Spanish tenor Placido Domingo sings with Chinese folk singer Song Zuying. (David Guttenfelder/Associated Press)

Then, English soccer star David Beckham came out to kick a ball into the crowd.

The cast of 7,000 in Beijing included 350 practitioners of kung-fu and 60 players of the Chinese violin, or erhu, and a group of famous Cantonese and Mandarin pop stars.

The closing ceremonies are considered a baby version of the spectacular opening ceremonies which included 15,000 performers — none of whom was part of the closing event.

Like the opening ceremonies, much of the finale was kept secret. Both events cost an estimated $100 million to produce.

Both occasions were co-ordinated by Chinese film director Zhang Yimou, who spent three years designing the Olympic bookends.