Manchester: A spectacular and vibrant show depicting the cultural heritage of the host nation brought the curtains down on the 17th Commonwealth Games at the City of Manchester stadium here.

Queen Elizabeth II, celebrating her golden jubilee year, formally declared the games closed on Sunday amidst cheers from the 38,000-strong crowd as dazzling fireworks lit up the evening sky.

This was the first time the Queen attended both the opening and closing ceremonies.

A heavy downpour could not dampen the spirits of the spectators who were treated to a light show, ballroom dancers, gold taxis, vintage cars and football players.

Over 1,600 sportspersons from 72 countries battled for honour and glory in the millennium's first Commonwealth Games, which saw a number of new records being established and new heroes being crowned.

For the largest ever Indian contingent, the 10-day sporting extravaganza turned out to be dream story as the generally medal-shy Indians produced a record haul of 32 gold, 21 silver and 19 bronze medals.

The Indians, who had previous best of 13 golds before setting foot in this Northern English city, took the third position on the medals table behind Australia and England.

The participants were greeted with a thunderous applause as they walked into the stadium and gathered at the centre of the field to watch the formal ceremonies.

PTI