The "spirit of generosity" demonstrated by British people during the London 2012 Olympics has been hailed by Games chief Lord Coe.
The public mood was his highlight of the Games, which ended with a musical closing ceremony and the handover to the next host city, Rio de Janeiro.
He said the Paralympics, first held in the UK in 1948, were "coming home".
Meanwhile, Lord Moynihan has announced that he is to step down as chairman of the British Olympic Association (BOA).
Having helped to steer Team GB to 29 golds and third place in the medal table at the London 2012 Olympics, he wrote to the BOA executive board and the National Olympic Committee to confirm his decision.
He plans to remain as chairman until an election is held in November to find his successor.
Earlier, speaking at a press conference, the chairman of Games organisers Locog Lord Coe looked forward to the Paralympics, which will start on 29 August.
He predicted that people would be "amazed" by the "quality of sport that they see" there.
"This is going to be an extraordinary moment for us," he added, saying his team was focusing on the transition process of moving from the Olympics to the Paralympics.
Lord Coe drew particular attention to those he felt were responsible for the successful running of the Olympic Games.
He thanked the athletes for creating "moments of heroism and heartbreak", the spectators for their "spirit of generosity" and the volunteers for being the "best ever".
"Our volunteers have been sensational. They've had boundless enthusiasm, goodwill, humour - they've done it with grace. And they have in large part been the face of these Games," he said.
It comes after the London 2012 Olympics ended with a spectacular musical closing ceremony and the official handover to the next host city, Rio de Janeiro.
Figures from the BBC revealed that 26.3 million people in the UK watched the closing ceremony, compared with 27.3 million people who watched the opening ceremony on 27 July.
The corporation said the Olympics had become the biggest national TV event since the current measurement system began in 2002, with 90% of the population (51.9 million) watching for least 15 minutes.
The most watched athletic event was Usain Bolt's victory in the 100m final, with 20 million people tuning in on 5 August.
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