Beijing  - Beijing will bid farewell to the Olympic family Sunday in what the closing ceremony organisers promise to be a "great, glittering party" for the record 11,249 athletes from 199 countries.

Few details of the three-hour show have been leaked. Italian music producer Georgio Moroder is known to have co-written with Chinese musician Kong Xiangdong the title song "Forever Friends".

This is due to be sung by nearly 70 pop stars from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other countries. Spanish tenor Placido Domingo is also due to perform a duet with Chinese soprano Song Zuying.

The latter, who holds major-general rank in the People's Army, is known to be a favourite of former state and party leader Jiang Zemin, in power when Beijing secured the Games in 2001.

An eight-minute firework display is also promised, staged as in the opening ceremony by Chinese pyrotechnic artist Cai Guoqiang.

And - unlike the opening ceremony where there were pre-recorded elements and a mimed song - everything seen by the millions of television viewers worldwide will be live and genuine, organizers say.

And it will be a far higher-risk event - director Zhang Yimou, who was responsible for the spectacular opening ceremony, has had no chance this time for a dress rehearsal.

English football star David Beckham will kick a ball into the Bird's Nest stadium crown from a red London double-decker bus during an eight-minute element featuring the host city of the next Games in 2012.

The element will feature popular singer Fiona Lewis, who in a clash of generations will be accompanied by Led Zeppelin guitar legend Jimmy Page.

The double decker bus is due to enter the stadium just after London Mayor Boris Johnson accepts the Olympic flag during the element, also featuring a revised, "sentimentalized" British national anthem devoid of bombast and personally approved by Queen Elizabeth II. (dpa)