The 19 golds won mainly by Britain's cyclists, sailors and swimmers in Beijing shows that a programme of heavy investment has already put its competitors on track for glory in four years' time.

And when David Beckham kicks footballs from the top of a red London double-decker bus in today's closing ceremony, the British capital will seek to show it will adopt a vastly different organisational approach from Beijing.

With half of Beijing's estimated 45-billion-dollar (30.5-billion-euro) budget, London's chiefs stress that they have no intention of competing with the Chinese capital to stage a bigger and better Olympics.

Instead, the London Games will seek to regenerate a deprived eastern area of the city and leave a lasting legacy for the local community which will endure long after the memories of sporting glory have faded.

Sebastian Coe, the double Olympic champion who heads the London organising committee, said Beijing may be the last Olympics of its kind.

"It's unlikely that we will see another Olympics of this scope and stature again," Coe said in Beijing.

"The International Olympic Committee themselves recognize that this is the last edition of a Games which is going to look and feel like this."