After 16 days of a flawlessly executed Olympics, which has at every stage been meticulously planned, with barely a blade of grass out of place, along came London last night and, in eight shambolic minutes, reminded everyone that a little bit of chaos can, in fact be a good thing.
From the moment an unkempt Boris Johnson, suit jacket unbuttoned and hands in pockets, waddled into the Bird's Nest, the mood of the Closing Ceremony - which, to that point had been impressive but ultimately rather cold - changed. Johnson, a huge grin on his face, stood on the podium waving sheepishly, clearly not quite sure what to do with his hands.
He grabbed the Olympic flag off IOC president Jacques Rogge, managed to get it tangled up, before waving it a few times - it was supposed to be six but I don't think Boris was counting - signalling the handover of the Games to London. Johnson departed, hands alternating between his pockets, and shaking hands with the rather bemused mayor of Beijing, Liu Qi.
Then the lights dimmed, and in drove a bus. We were promised an iconic red London double-decker, but the plain red coach was more reminiscent of a rail replacement bus on the London-Norwich mainline. The doors opened and out jumped a team of multicultural dancers, reading the papers and twirling umbrellas. After three minutes of chaos - a little girl appeared at one point to clamber over some bodies (apparently she had been chosen by Blue Peter viewers) - the roof opened to reveal Leona Lewis, looking terrified that the raised platform she was standing on was about to topple and fall, and a white-haired Jimmy Page, clearly delighted that organisers had decided to cut straight to his guitar solo.
The mostly Chinese crowd looked on in stunned silence. A few tapped their feet awkwardly. Then the star attraction, David Beckham, appeared on the top deck, accompanied by a very attractive, scantily clad violinist - why not, I guess - and to the delight of the crowd proceeded to kick an oversized football randomly in the direction of the Olympic volunteers in the stadium.
Then, as quickly as it began, it was all over, the bus framed by some frankly pathetic-looking flashing umbrellas as it departed the stadium. London's surreal interlude to another Chinese show of power was complete.
Objectively, London's opening salvo to the 2012 Olympic Games last night was awful. Our ramshackle assortment of entertainment and somewhat ham-fisted attempts at comedy - I was half expecting three buses to come along at once but I guess that would have pushed the show way over budget - paled in comparison to Zhang Yimou's vast, highly choreographed, and visually stunning set-pieces.
But after an Olympic Games that, while incredibly impressive, have been distinctly lacking in fun and spontaneity, the fact that an attempt was made at humour, and that the overriding air was one of self-deprecation, was a blessed reminder that some nations are confident enough to be able to laugh at themselves.
China has been a consummate host over this past Olympic fortnight. Never before has a Games been run so smoothly, perhaps never again will we see such impressive venues. And the people of Beijing have been incredibly welcoming and friendly.
But the overall air of intense national pride - when 10,000 people are joylessly yelling "China must win, China must win," over and over again, the effect is faintly terrifying - coupled with China's acute sensitivity and complete inability to take any form of criticism whatsoever, can wear down even the most supportive of guests - I'm talking about myself here.
China should take a great deal of confidence from these Games. Not only has it proved its international doubters wrong in the organisational stakes, its athletes achieved their ambition by topping the medal table by a significant margin.
Hopefully, this should also go someway towards ridding the country of its largely self-imposed victim complex. The state-sanctioned version of history, taught to hundreds of millions of schoolchildren across China, is one of a nation that was repeatedly humiliated by the rest of the world, but which, thanks to the glorious efforts of the Communist Party since 1979 - the first thirty years are conveniently glossed over - has regained its rightful place as a global superpower.
There is no denying that China has suffered at the hands of both the Western imperial powers and Japan over the past 200 years, and it is understandable that there should be some lingering bitterness and resentment. And the government deserves a great deal of credit for lifting its people out of poverty and ushering in economic growth on an unprecedented scale.
But the fact is that China is no longer a victim - it is the world's emerging superpower, its economy is almost single-handedly preventing us from sliding into an all-out global recession right now, and it is moving from being the low-cost workshop of the world into one which, increasingly, is outsourcing its designs and expertise overseas. The sooner it realises this, the quicker it will be accepted, and trusted, by the rest of the world.
If these Olympics can go some way towards enabling the Chinese to be confident enough to make a fool of themselves in front of hundreds of millions of viewers and not really care, then the billions of pounds it has ploughed into these Games may just have been worth it.
But judging by Hu Jintao's fixed, steely gaze as he watched over the closing fireworks last night, I fear that the Chinese government is still a long way off being able to do so.
For all the latest Olympic news, commentary and analysis, check out MSN's Beijing Olympics special report.
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