BEIJING • The flame went out with a whimper but the legacy created by a memorable Olympics in which China shouted itspresence to the world should last forever.

Wild celebrations among thousands of athletes from a record 204 countries, performances by about 7,000 people and a graceful kick by David Beckham highlighted Sunday’s ending of the Beijing Games.

A decent portion of the 597 U.S. athletes in Beijing attended the two-hour Closing Ceremony, and archer Khatuna Lorig, from the country of Georgia, carried the American flag into 91,000-seat National Stadium, packed to the rafters.

Festivities came on the heels of gold medals by the U.S. in men’s basketball and men’s indoor volleyball, as China posted a 51-36 win in the gold-medal count and the Americans marked a 110-100 victory in the total-medal tally.

The Chinese had reason to party.

After all, the 17-day Olympics were a success, from shiny, spectacular venues to pollution that wasn’t that bad to human-rights protests that were squashed before they created attention to only a handful of doping cases.

For the first time, China flashed its stuff, offering a global audience little-known aspects of the world’s most populous country, displaying the good it has to offer despite a much-criticized communist government.

“Through these Games, the world learned more about China, and China learned more about the world,” said International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge, who handed the Olympic flag to London Mayor Boris Johnson before Beckham booted a soccer ball to commemorate Great Britain hosting in 2012.

Earlier in the day, Rogge told IOC membership that “the Games are not just a showcase for the world’s best competitions and athletes. They help break barriers and overcome differences. … The IOC and the Olympic Games cannot force changes on sovereign nations or solve all the ills of the world. But we can – and we do – contribute to positive change through sport.”

Rogge hailed Olympic-induced improvements in Beijing in mass transportation, public infrastructure and environmental conditions, “leading to major advances in the areas of energy consumption, sustainable water consumption, waste management and air quality. … The legacy of these Games for China is ultimately up to the Chinese people.”

The Chinese embraced the Olympics, buying most of the 6.8 million tickets available. They were slow to show for the start, although crowds picked up behind Michael Phelps’ record eight gold medals and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt’s three world records.

In the U.S., attention was evident in that an estimated 208.7 million people watched the first 15 days of the Olympics on NBC, about 300,000 less than the entirety of the 1996 Atlanta Games, according to Nielsen Media Research.

“It was absolutely amazing to be here with the crowds, and thinking all the world is watching,” U.S. diver Mary Beth Dunnichay said. “It was the coolest feeling ever.”

On the field, competition was fiercer than ever.

There were 43 world records and 132 Olympic records broken, and a record 87 nations took home medals, including first-time winners Afghanistan, Mauritius, Tajikistan and Togo. Three countries – Bahrain, Mongolia and Panama – won golds for the first time.

Colorado Springs claimed nine individual medals – a gold by Henry Cejudo in wrestling; a silver by Matt Emmons in shooting; and bronzes by Jayson Nix in baseball, Deontay Wilder in boxing, Joseph Hagerty in gymnastics, Corey Cogdell and Jason Turner in shooting and Randi Miller and Adam Wheeler in wrestling – and a silver for the Springs-based women’s indoor volleyball team.

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