SO the naysayers have been proved wrong. The Olympics have been an astonishing success, showcasing Britain to the world. Our athletes’ performance outclassed all expectations.

Everyone has their own view of what made the Games special for them, but here is my roll call of heroes and villains.

* Mo Farah – his athletic triumphs were the stuff of legend and his life story more so – a Somalian refugee embraced by Britain, he represents the triumph of liberty over oppression.

* Girl power – no not the Spice Girls, but the fantastic achievements of the women athletes. Jessica Ennis in athletics, Victoria Pendleton in cycling, Nicola Adams in boxing, the list is too long. But special mention must go to Sarah Attar, the first woman to compete for Saudi Arabia. The sight of the British audience roaring her around the track was truly inspiring.

* The British people – the audience at every venue roared the athletes to success and carried much of the responsibility for the medal haul for Team GB. But the Games would have been nothing without the volunteers who helped make them a success. They can be proud of being part of something special.

* The Queen – her appearance with James Bond was the highlight of the opening ceremony. But while we celebrate our third place in the medal table, if Her Majesty tots up the number of medals for all the countries for whom she is head of state, she is comfortably ahead of the US and China. Congratulations to the medallists from Australia, Canada, Jamaica, Bahamas, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada. This has been quite a jubilee year.

And the villains? Well the cheating badminton players deserved to be sent home – but even the doom predicting national media got behind the Games in the end.

They revel in playing up the grumpy side of everything, but even they couldn’t fly in the face of positive public spirit.

And it isn’t over yet – we will have more inspiration from the Paralympics. Can’t wait.