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The day of celebration began at 08:12 BST with a mass bell ringing. Big Ben rang for three minutes for the first time since King George VI's funeral.
The Olympic flame is heading along the Thames on the Queen's rowbarge Gloriana on the final day of the torch relay.
Speaking in Downing Street, Prime Minister David Cameron said Britain was ready to welcome "the greatest show on earth".
"It's a great opportunity to show the world the best of Britain, a country that's got an incredibly rich past but also a very exciting future," he said.
"Someone asked me yesterday what face of Britain do we want to put forward - is it Blur or the Beefeaters? - and frankly it's both."
In other developments:
