London bids farewell to controversial Olympics

The USA topped the medal table with 44 golds. China came a close second with 38. The home team reaped the benefit of £125m of sporting investment. Iran excelled at weightlifting and wrestling with the promise of further improvement in other sports. And the superstars - Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps - shined once more.

But the euphoria of the sporting action didn’t completely drown out the dissenting voices. Many felt the Games were an expensive luxury that only benefitted elites at a time of financial crisis at home.

But the general mood - for the moment anyway - was one of pride and nationalism.

So in the end the Games passed off without a terrorist attack or without the transport system breaking down. But the lingering question remains: was it all worth it?

From an organizational point of view the general consensus is that the London Olympics were a success. They were well organized, reasonably well attended and they were safe. But given that the country is in deep recession the real question is were they just a two week adrenalin rush with the hangover yet to come?