The closing ceremony that followed the 16 days of competition was watched in the Olympic Stadium by the 10,000 athletes and 80,000 spectators

With the London 2012 Olympics over, how have the Games been judged around the world? Here is a round-up of verdicts.

World reaction:

David Segal, New York Times: "The Games have hit this country like an extra-strength dose of a mood-enhancing drug. The question being asked here now is whether this national euphoria can last or, better yet, lead the country out of its recent economically driven malaise. Perhaps, as one writer for The Guardian wrote, the Games will 'mark the end of Britain's age of decline'."

Philip Hersh, Chicago Tribune: "In summing up London 2012, the temptation is to deliver a panegyric. Such a discourse, filled with lofty expressions of praise, would reflect the ancient roots of the 17-day festival that ended here Sunday. The praise also would reflect accurately how London performed in its third go-around as an Olympic Summer Games host. Brits no longer have an empire on which the sun never sets. But they managed to keep it shining on these Olympics most of the time after having endured months of ceaseless rain. God apparently was interested in saving more than the Queen, who made a sky diving entry to the opening ceremony."

Anthony Faiola, Washington Post: "Urged on by massive home crowds and a cheerleading press that defied predictions of Olympic cynicism, British athletes ran, cycled and rowed their way to their highest medal count since Britannia ruled the seas in 1908. At these Games, the United States and China might be coming home with more gold, but this country of 62 million roughly the size of Michigan reminded itself of its uncanny ability to punch above its weight."

Lisa Dillman, LA Times: "Little went wrong for the organisers, who had dealt with a steady dose of gloom in the run-up to the Olympics, pessimistic predictions of gridlock and transport nightmares. Those fears never quite materialized. Not only that, but Britain was treated to a hugely successful series of performances by its athletes."

Greg Baum, Sydney Morning Herald: "London, you didn't half do a decent job. These Olympics had Sydney's vibrancy, Athens's panache, Beijing's efficiency, and added British know-how and drollery. With apologies to Sydney, they might just represent a new PB [personal best] for the Olympics. They were superbly organised. The Olympic Park's setting, in one of Britain's poorest boroughs, proved inspired. Some Olympic sites become wasteland after the Games. This one began as wasteland and is now full of possibilities."

The Australian: "As awful as it is to admit, London 2012 was bigger, slicker, almost as friendly and more thoughtfully planned than Sydney in terms of the legacy it will leave the host city. As the post-mortems begin on how London compares with other Games in terms of crowd numbers, finances, sporting excellence and that beast of many faces called "legacy", there is one simple indication of the success of the past two weeks. That is the feeling of surprise among ordinary Londoners and people close to the Games that after all that anticipation and all their doubts, they had pulled it off so well. It is not a sense of 'We told you so', more one of 'My god, we actually did it!'"

David Leggat, New Zealand Herald: "Hats off to the Lord Coe and his Locog planning chums. They can put their feet up knowing London did itself, and the Olympics, proud. If you are of a nit-picky disposition, you could take issue here and there, but there will always be hiccups no matter how well laid the plans for an event of this scale. Standing at Stratford train station, beside the entrance to the Olympic Park, for 40 minutes in the rain is not inclined to lead one to magnanimous thoughts. But these were good Games. Security was solid and much of the sport was terrific."

Times of India: "At the end of a three-hour ceremony, the Olympic flame was ceremoniously extinguished, marking the end of the 17-day sporting extravaganza which saw many Olympic and world record being re-written and many new heroes emerging. US and China predictably emerged as the powerhouses by taking the first and second spots in the medals tally while hosts Britain produced their best-ever show to take the third position."

China Daily: "Despite concerns about the creaky transport system and a shortfall of private security guards, which forced the government to call in thousands of extra troops to help screen visitors, the Games have passed by fairly trouble-free. A furore over empty seats at several Olympic venues blew over, especially once the track and field showcase kicked in and drew capacity crowds for virtually every session. Even the weather improved as the Games wore on. Bright sunshine has graced the closing weekend of a festival that has helped to lift spirits in Britain."

Source: BBC. Read more here

So by world you mean the Commonwealth ;)

The US and China are part of the Commonwealth?

Not all of these countries are commonwealth. Besides, it's not my fault the BBC didnt include the brazillian post, zimbabwae herald or the azerbaijan chronicle. 

Anyway, I just thought it was interesting to see the reaction to the games from around the world.

Biggest problem I saw was that footage was premade instead of being able to be chosen by the broadcaster, so it gave equal time to everyone in the lead and no time to those outside. On British TV, the British gymnasts were shown I'd say less than 1/5 of the time, and there was a lot of cutting to footage of the crowd at the wrong time instead of showing events that were clearly happening.

No. The footage was done by the IOC (edit: Olympic Broadcasting Service) The third parties including the BBC had /no control/ over the footage. This is very much an organisational issue.

The support of the people was fantastic. Seeing all of the volunteers with smiles on the faces all the time was awesome! As was the crowds for all of the events, especially the road races and marathons with everybody packing the sides of the streets and waving flags and cheering supporting athletes that arent even from our country! That is the true Olympic spirit.

I meant that they should have provided _all_ the footage and let each broadcaster show off their team more.

It was a fantastic event. It went perfectly. Great sport for 17 days. It was great to see the inion flag out in force every where too.

Great games. Just heard GB plan to make a bid for the 2024 games. We liked it that much.

I however think the big emerging economies like Turkey and Russia will probably win the two after Brazil.

Really looking forward to the carnival games in '16. Should be here in no time considering that when London won the games all those years ago seems like last month.