Music was the heartbeat of the $ 42.3 million Olympic closing ceremony spectacular . Former Beatle , Paul McCartney opened the ceremony by playing ` ` Hey Jude '' NME : ` ` They 're tilting their hat towards the cult status of British rock ' n ' roll music '' Montage of genre - defining tunes provide snapshot of distinctly British sounds .
Music was the heartbeat of the $ 42.3 million Olympic opening ceremony spectacular . Former Beatle , Paul McCartney ended the night by playing `` Hey Jude '' NME : `` They 're tipping their hat towards the cult element of British rock ' n ' roll music '' Montage of era-defining tunes provide snapshot of distinctly British sounds .