IoC President Jacques Rogge, standing on the rostrum with the President of the Beijing Games Organising Committee Guo Jinlong on his side, will declare among other things that "these were the best Games ever", and will solemnly congratulate the organisers and eventually declare "the Games of the 29th Olympiad closed." The protocol regarding the closing ceremony adds that "a fanfare then sounds, the Olympic flame is extinguished, while the Olympic anthem is played, the flag is slowly lowered and a farewell song resounds".

The final curtain of the Games that provided thrills, spectacles, brilliant feats, emotions and a number of new records comes down tomorrow!

Thanks for the memories. And so say all of us.

I have no doubt that tomorrow afternoon thousands of Maltese will join billions of viewers from all over the world and watch the final act of the highly successful Beijing Games of the XXIX Olympiad. More than 91,000 will fill the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium, hailed as the finest arena in the world, and enjoy a dancing and music extravaganza as athletes march together without distinction of nationalities; a demonstration of "brotherhood of men (and women)" par excellence. They came here to represent their countries but at the end of the Games they will join hands, dance together, kiss one another and have fun as one nation, irrespective of colour, creed, medals or wooden spoons.

The ceremony also sees continuity in the series. From Beijing 2008 to London 2012, as Guo Jinlong, the mayor of Beijing and chairman of the organising committee, will hand the Olympic flag to his English counterpart Boris Johnson. David Beckham will lead the star-studded team which will include the polished singer Leona Lewis and Jimmy Page of Led Zappelin fame, on top of a red double-decker bus, a trademark of London transport. Placido Domingo and soprano Song Yuying will also feature in the programme which will be attended by a high number of heads of state and prime ministers.

The meaningful slogan "One world, one dream", so evident during the 17 days of competition will hopefully be remembered and practised for decades to come. The dream that we all cherish centres on unity, friendship, progress, peace, participation and living in harmony while enjoying a happy life (through fitness, sport and exercise, I may add).

These were the Games of modern technology; the novelty kits like the exceptionally light running shoes for Chinese marathon runners which are used only once; the transparent masks for fencers; the dominant body suits for swimmers; all these factors and others too certainly helped in improving the athletes' phenomenal performances, which must have brought exceptional bonuses and lucrative contracts for the winners.

These could also be remembered as the Games of Michael Phelps. Or the Games when China topped the gold medals list. But then, less than a third of the participating countries can boast of having won a medal.

I followed with great interest the preparations and performances of our athletes. They gave their utmost. It was a pleasure to be present during William Chetcuti's shoot-out. His performance proved that assistance and determination are the key to success. I was also pleased to be present while two national swimming records were being broken. Overall it was most satisfactory, though in sport competitions disappointments are never lacking. The government's financial assistance, the facilities that were built in these last two decades and other grants certainly helped.

The international conferences organised by the EU and the Commonwealth secretariat, for ministers responsible for sport, provided useful opportunities for sharing ideas and discussions. In both conferences emphasis was placed on the power of sport to change the lives of our peoples. Reference was also made on the CHOGM communiqué at the end of the meeting in Malta when heads underlined the importance of sport as an effective instrument for community and youth development.

These experiences strengthened my determined ambition, if ever it needed to be, to strive for increase in participation in sport by fellow citizens. It is an exciting challenge even though a new mentality is already being noticed.

It is hoped that everyone joins in our health and fitness programmes with sport being an inspiration for a better life.

After all, sport is a way of life.

Mr Puli is Parliamentary Secretary for Youth and Sport.