A double-decker bus will begin its return journey to London as part of the Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony as the British capital prepares to take the mantle of host city from Beijing.

The iconic bus - a recognised symbol of London around the world according to the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games - was the centrepiece of an eight-minute segment in last month's Olympics finale at the Bird's Nest Stadium.

Now the same bus will journey into the Paralympics send-off.

The Paralympics handover, which will also last eight minutes, is the second installment of a show which began in the Olympics Closing Ceremony.

"For the first time in Olympic history, the two handover ceremonies at the Olympic and Paralympic closing ceremonies are linked - they are two halves of one show," Martin Green, head of ceremonies of LOCOG, told the China Daily.

Sporting Life