Sebastian Coe says London is undaunted at having to follow Beijing when it hosts the next Summer Olympics and Paralympics in 2012.

“It’s a massive responsibility,” the chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games told a news conference on the eve of the closing ceremony of the Paralympics.

“We don’t find it daunting. I can only relate it to when I was sitting in a stadium when I was still a competitor watching an outstanding performance in my own event,” added the twice Olympic champion middle distance runner. 

“I didn’t feel cowed by it, I went out and wanted to emulate it or even better it… Beijing has delivered a spectacular Games and we will also deliver a spectacular Games.”

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PHOTO: Brazil’s Lucas Prado (R) celebrates with his guide after they won the men’s 100M T11 final at the Bird’s Nest, during the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, Sept 9, 2008. REUTERS/David Gray

Double amputee Oscar Pistorius has put the disappointment of not qualifying for the Beijing Olympics behind him and is confident of snaring three gold medals in the athletics at the Paralympics.

He is also looking forward to an attempt to make the next Olympics in London 2012.

The 21-year-old South African, dubbed the ‘Blade Runner’ because of the prosthetic legs that enable him to sprint, won a legal battle in May for the right to participate in the Olympics, only to then fail to meet the qualifying time.

“I didn’t make the Olympics this time, I’m hoping for the future,” he told me just ahead of the Paralympics.

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PHOTO: Pistorius runs the men’s 400 meters at the international EAA athletics meeting in Lucerne July 16, 2008. Needing a time of 45.55 seconds to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, Pistorius, 21, failed to qualify, finishing third with a personal best time of 46.25. REUTERS/Michael Buholzer

Riding a wave of sporting euphoria after its best Olympic performance in a century, Britain accepted Olympic host-nation status from China on Sunday with a huge street party in front of Buckingham Palace.

Owen Wyatt catches up with Olympic gold medallists Michael Phelps and Bradley Wiggins as London throbbed with 40,000 partygoers at a live concert to start the countdown to the London 2012 Olympics.

As if any more glitz was needed at the Beijing Olympics, David Beckham flew into China at the weekend to promote the 2012 Games in London.

The former England captain has millions of fans in China. He will appear in the Bird’s Nest at the Olympics closing ceremony tonight, kicking a ball into the crowd from a red double-decker bus to symbolise the handover to London.

After a quick change into immaculate tie-and-jacket, Beckham popped on to a hotel balcony overlooking Tiananmen Square to see the sunset and have a chat with Reuters.

As something of a showboater himself, Beckham believes Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has a right to celebrate his feats on the track despite criticism from the Olympics boss that his jubilant style shows disrespect for fellow athletes.

As a born-and-bred Londoner, Beckham is delighted the Olympics are coming home and thinks they can be even better than in China.

Is he right?

PHOTO: David Beckham plays a soccer match against West Ham United in Toronto July 24, 2008. REUTERS/Chris Young

There was a joke going around the Olympics (until yesterday evening) about how none of Britain’s gold medals had been won by people standing up. Perfect for the British, no? We do like a nice sit down and a cup of tea after all.

Christine Ohuruogu ended that odd little sequence when she followed the sailors, swimmers, cyclists and rowers on to the podium to collect her gold for the women’s 400 metres.

Britain’s tally of 16 golds is their best since 1908 and puts them third in the medals table (as you’ll see if you glance to the right) ahead of the likes of Russia, Australia and Germany.

Kate Holton takes a look here at Britain’s Olympic renaissance, following the embarrassment of winning just one gold medal in Atlanta in 1996. Money has had a lot to do with it, with so many athletes now benefiting from National Lottery funding, but it has created a potential problem heading into the 2012 London Games.

Britain’s target for their home Games was always going to be fourth place in the medals table. In the wake of Beijing, and assuming they hang on to third, that would be a real anticlimax.

Just as The Times is speaking about a funding crisis, the British will now be faced with diverting a fair chunk of the Lottery money to sports in which they have no realistic chance of a medal — simply to avoid humiliation. As hosts, Britain will be automatically entered into all team events, which means fielding teams in sports like handball, water polo and others where there is not a great tradition in the country. Thank goodness softball and baseball won’t be there.

But with any luck the Beijing gold rush — or the Great Haul of China, as the British have it — will inspire the country to exceed expectations once again in London. Obviously second place is out of the question, but holding on to third, and finishing ahead of Australia especially, should offer mighty levels of motivation.

Can they do it?

PHOTO: A woman from the British team, with a pole used for giving drinks to the swimmers, dips her toes in the water during the women’s marathon 10km swimming competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, August 20, 2008. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside