BBC records Imagine for Olympics finale

Emile Sandé (vocals) with Gavin Powell (piano), perform Imagine by John Lennon. Produced and Directed by Huw Tal. Camera - Andy Halley.

The piece was recorded for BBC Sport's closing Olympics montage.

BBC Sport's Jonny Bramley, executive producer of the London 2012 Olympic Games, explains the reasoning behind the selection.

"In terms of what Britain has given to the world, music is a massive part of that. Throughout the Games we considered very carefully the music we used, choosing to reflect British artists and artists from the opening ceremony in our daily montages.

"For the end of the Games, we wanted a piece of music of epic proportions by an iconic British artist - and Imagine fits that brief perfectly. The lyrics sum up the emotions we have all experienced over the last few weeks and it bookends the Games brilliantly - we opened with Paul McCartney and we close with John Lennon.

"But we wanted a modern take on it so we asked one of the young British performers from the opening ceremony, Emile Sandé (http://www.emelisande.com/, external), to record a new version. So it is a melding of a classic piece of music with an inspiring young British musician."

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