 The song was performed as part of the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics . Performed by the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Choir and the Liverpool Signing Choir , the choirs sang the first verse and accompanied Lennon 's original vocals during the rest of the song . A cover performed by Emeli Sandé was also used by the BBC for a closing montage that ended its coverage . " Imagine " subsequently re @-@ entered the UK Top 40 , reaching number 18 . 
