BANANARAMA – yup, that lot from the 80s – were the closest to anything British at the beach volley final, but it barely mattered on a sunny evening at Horse Guards Parade.
Everyone with a Union flag wrapped around their middle, this season’s must-have accessory, cheered for Brazil. Of course the Germans won – and they didn’t even need penalties.
Nobody seemed to care much apart from the Brazilian duo robbed at the death by a myopic judge who couldn’t tell the final spike by the yellow shirts was in.
Club Tropicana, and every song you can think of with beach in it including Mr Sandman (nice one) revved up the crowd, but still the dulcet tones of ‘Deutschland, Deutschland’ rumbled on throughout the men’s final to the inevitable outcome.
The wife wanted to know why the men wear beach shorts and a singlet and the women wear knickers and a bra.
Search me, is the answer, and there’s been a lot of that at security points over the last 13 days.
But the idea that life has become a beach on one of the capital’s iconic landmarks was a clever bit of thinking on behalf of LOCOG. The normal pomp and circumstance gave way to everybody trooping every colour known to man in keeping with the beach theme.
It will be a shame when Monday comes.
The five-ring circus will have left town, and Horse Guards will once again just have Japanese pointing their Nikons at the motionless sentries.
I would have defied those with plumes and swords to remain still as ‘Venus’ and ‘Cruel Summer’ rocked out at half time from Bananarama.
The big hair from the 80s has gone – but the big ideas of making the most out of London 2012 will linger for a while.
