Schoolgirl, 10, to help Beckham bring Olympic flag back home

The former England captain, who played a key role in London's winning bid in Singapore three years ago, is an iconic figure in China where he is more popular than any Olympic athlete other than those from the host nation.

He will take part in an eight-minute show staged by London during the closing ceremony in the Bird's Nest Stadium when the Olympic Flag is handed over to Boris Johnson, the London Mayor.

Schoolgirl Tayyiba Dubhwala, left, will appear with David Beckham in a ceremony also featuring the first performance in six years by ballerina Deborah Bull, right

Beckham will walk into the stadium holding the hand of ten-year-old Tayyiba Dubhwala, from Forest Gate in East London, who won a Blue Peter competition to take part in the ceremony.

Other celebrities include guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Leona Lewis, who are said to be performing a new version of Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love.

The British Red Arrows will do a flyby in celebration

An estimated global audience of 1.5billion will watch London’s offering on TV.

It will coincide with a string of events in Britain, including a party in the Mall in front of Buckingham Palace, free concert for 40,000 and big screens set up in parks around the country to see the handover.

Bill Morris, London 2012's director of ceremonies, stressed that London was not aiming to match Beijing in terms of scale at the handover ceremony - the Chinese are expected to have a cast of literally thousands involved.

'Our approach is to keep it simple and creative, to make it youthful and diverse, entertaining and fun. It will be London, UK, loud and proud.'

He admitted he had been stunned by the scale and spectacle of Beijing's opening ceremony but said he was not overawed.

London Mayor Boris Johnson, pictured at the Olympic village in Beijing, will be handed the flag on Sunday. 'Let's hope he doesn't drop it,' Lord Coe commented

Singer Leona Lewis is set to perform with Led Zeppelin legend Jimmy Page, right