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In pictures: London 2012 remembered 10 years on

Getty Images The Spice GirlsGetty Images
The Spice Girls perform on iconic London cabs during the London 2012 Olympics closing ceremony

From the Queen and James Bond arriving by parachute, to the Spice Girls sending the world into a girl power frenzy - plus all the sporting success in between - London 2012 was full of iconic moments.

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Usain Bolt celebrates his win following the men's 200m final
Getty Images Hannah CockroftGetty Images
Hannah Cockroft became the first Paralympic athlete to break a world record in the stadium, recording a time of 18.56 seconds to win the T34 100m

Usain Bolt won the 100m in 9.63 seconds, setting a new Olympic record. Beth Tweddle won an Olympic medal for a dazzling uneven bars routine.

Mo Farah won two gold medals in the 5,000m and 10,000m and Hannah Cockroft set a new Paralympic record when she won her second gold in the 200m wheelchair sprint.

Getty Images Beth TweddleGetty Images
Beth Tweddle was the first female gymnast from Team GB to win a medal at the Olympic Games
Getty Images Mo FarahGetty Images
Mo Farah won the 10,000m Olympic gold in a time of 27:30.42

Not only was the event a sporting success, Danny Boyle's unforgettable Olympics opening ceremony on 27 July, 2012 celebrated Britain's diverse history to a soundtrack featuring Big Ben, the Sex Pistols, the EastEnders theme and the Clash's London Calling.

Getty Images Performers pay tribute to British music during the opening ceremonyGetty Images
Performers pay tribute to British music during the Olympics opening ceremony

The £27m display paid homage to the NHS, featuring hundreds of real nurses who volunteered to be part of the 10,000 strong cast, including staff and patients from Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Mr Boyle also paid tribute to some of Britain's biggest music, TV and film moments including Harry Potter, Alice In Wonderland and Mary Poppins.

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In total, 1,650 children auditioned for the London 2012 Ceremonies Mass Movement Team, performing large-scale choreography and dance routines
Getty Images Voldemort puppetGetty Images
The Olympics opening ceremony paid homage to the NHS and British children's literature
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Twenty three Mary Poppins flew down from the roof to rescue the children from Voldemort

From Gregory's Girl to Four Weddings and a Funeral, the Beatles to the Stones, the Jam to the Who, Monty Python to Harry Enfield and Amy Winehouse to Tinie Tempah, it was a condensed greatest hits of British popular culture.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: "London 2012 showed our capital at its best. It was a time that displayed the inclusive, diverse and welcoming heart of our city in all its energy and vibrance."

Reuters Former Paralympic athlete, Tanni Grey-Thompson, is lifted into the air in the Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic GamesReuters
The London Paralympic Games held a separate opening ceremony on 29 August, 2012, in which former Paralympic athlete Tanni Grey-Thompson was lifted into the air in the stadium
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Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Lily Cole led a team of British models in the fashion interlude at the Olympics closing ceremony
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More than 50 years of British pop music were honoured by Danny Boyle as part of his Olympics opening ceremony
PA Media The late British dancer and actor David Toole performing at the Paralympics opening ceremonyPA Media
The late British dancer and actor David Toole performing at the Paralympics opening ceremony

But the legacy of London 2012 goes beyond the ceremonies and medals won. Ten years on, it continues to benefit communities living around the Olympic Park in Stratford, east London.

Sir Peter Hendy CBE, chair of London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), said: "London 2012 was the greatest Games ever, and the work to secure the legacy here in east London through an inclusive approach to local people and the development of the east London economy has become a blueprint for every Olympics and Paralympics since."

Mr Khan revealed last week that his office was "working on a plan" to bring the Olympics and Paralympics back to London as early as 2036 for the "greenest Games ever".

The earliest that London would be able to host another Games would be 2036, with Paris set to host the Games in 2024, Los Angeles in 2028 and Brisbane Australia the likely host of the 2032 Games.

Should London play host to the 2036 Games, it would become the first city to host four separate Summer Olympics, having hosted the Games in 1908, 1948 and 2012.

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