British supergroup Coldplay provided the backdrop to a three-hour extravaganza interspersed with dance and performance at the Olympic Stadium in east London, belting out hits including &quot;Clocks&quot;, &quot;The Scientist&quot; and &quot;Yellow&quot;. <a href="http://gallery.mid-day.com/sports/rihannajay-zcoldplay-perform-at-london-paralympics/1/">PHOTOS: Rihanna, Jay-Z and Coldplay perform at the London Paralympics</a> &quot;Being asked to play at the Paralympic Closing Ceremony in our home town is a huge honour,&quot; said lead singer Chris Martin. &quot;This will be the biggest night of our lives,&quot; added Martin, who is married to US actress Gwyneth Paltrow. The band, who have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, accepted a fee of &pound;1 ($1.60, 1.25 euros) to headline the show. The ceremony kicked off with a procession of fire jugglers, a parade of drummers carrying blazing beacons, and a giant burning model cyclist who wheeled around the stadium. Dressed unusually modestly in a flowing orange gown and veil, Barbados star Rihanna sailed into the show onboard a model ship and sang a steamy duet with Martin, before performing another number on a swing strung high over the stadium. <img alt="Rihanna, Jay Z, Coldplay" src="http://images.mid-day.com/2012/sep/rihanna10sep.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 333px; " /> Rihanna, Jay Z and Coldplay singer Chris Martin perform. Photo: AFP Trapeze artists tumbled from the skies as sparks flew from above their heads in a festival-themed show watched by 80,000 spectators in the stadium and millions worldwide on television. Outlandish vehicles also played a central role in the show, with trucks including a giant dinosaur made of 25 old BMWs, a whale built from an old helicopter and a giant grasshopper joining the parade. Drummer Mat Fraser, who was born with deformed arms after his mother took the drug thalidomide during her pregnancy, performed a number with Coldplay after Martin watched him perform during the Paralympic opening ceremony. A cast of 1,336 volunteers from around the world and more than 50 drummers were also among the performers in a show with themes ranging from military sacrifice to the changing seasons. The next Paralympic hosts, Rio de Janeiro, provided a carnival-flavoured taste of 2016 with a colourful segment featuring &quot;dance battles&quot; between performers of different styles. Roberta Marquez and Thiago Soares, both Brazilian stars of the British Royal Ballet, performed with a group of Brazilian visually-impaired dancers. There was a huge sigh from the packed stadium as International Paralympic Committee chief Philip Craven declared the London Games officially closed, before British athletes Ellie Simmonds and Jonnie Peacock extinguished the flame. &quot;These have been quite simply amazing Paralympic Games,&quot; said Craven. US rapper-producer Jay-Z lifted the mood, joining Coldplay and Rihanna -- now in a more customary transparent top and shiny black skirt -- to perform his hit, &quot;Run This Town&quot;. As fireworks exploded over the stadium and the River Thames in the final minutes of London&#39;s summer-long festival of elite sport, a message was projected onto Britain&#39;s Houses of Parliament: &quot;Thank you London, thank you UK.&quot;

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Fantastical wheeled vehicles, roller-skating warriors and bursts of fire brought the London Paralympics to a close Sunday, in a quirky closing ceremony headlined by Coldplay, Rihanna and Jay-Z.

Coldplay, Rihanna, Jay-Z star in Games finale

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Coldplay, Rihanna, Jay-Z star in Games finale

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