By Frank Malley, PA Chief Sports Writer

They finished in much the same way as they had begun - a spectacular ceremony, stunning fireworks and an uplifting tale of bravery.

Eleven days ago it had been tragic little six-year-old Kirsty Howard, with a little help from David Beckham, who had provided the touch of courage in the City of Manchester Stadium as she handed the Commonwealth Games baton to the Queen.

Last night it was Natalie du Toit who took centre stage at a Commonwealth Games which have rocked with drama and rolled with a feelgood factor British sport has not experienced for years.

And although the Games' finale's final act was drenched in a torrential downpour of trademark Manchester proportions, the spirit of the occasion could not be dampened.

Natalie, the 18-year-old South African who lost a leg in an horrific moped accident, was chosen as the most outstanding athlete of the 17th Commonwealth Games.

The 5,000 competitors voted for Natalie above Aussie swimmer Ian Thorpe, despite his six golds and a silver, above Paula Radcliffe, despite the thunderous emotion of her first track gold, and above Jonathan Edwards despite his achievement of completing a Grand Slam of major championship golds.

Somehow it all seemed perfectly appropriate.

Natalie won two gold medals in the disabled swimming, setting two world records, and made the final in the able-bodied category to give a genuinely unified resonance to the Games.

On Sunday night at the closing ceremony Michael Fennell, Chairman of the Commonwealth Games Federation, awarded her the inaugural David Dixon Award, presented in honour of the former Honorary Secretary of the CGF and "based on all-round performance and overall contribution to their team, embracing the values of fair play".

"I am still able to walk, run and even cycle," said Natalie. "But most importantly I'm still able to swim. That is thanks to my faith."

And you couldn't help thinking, as Manchester bade farewell to its place in the sporting sun with a closing ceremony which turned into one huge party, that these were the Games which had rewarded the north-west city and its 10,000 volunteers for its own faith.

So successful have they been that they may even have laid the foundation for the Olympic Games to come to Britain, according to Craig Reedie, the chairman of the British Olympic Association, who admitted for the first time the possibility of a 2012 bid by London on the back of Manchester's success.

How fitting then that the theme of the closing ceremony was once again "ordinary people doing extraordinary things".

We witnessed 800 children singing Handel's Coronation anthem in traditional fashion in honour of the Queen's Golden Jubilee before bursting into a Hip-Hop version and then painting a 1000 square metres portrait of the Queen in painting-by-numbers style - and all in 75 seconds.

There followed the parade of 4,500 athletes, minus those who had already left for the European Championships in Munich next week, and the official closing of Manchester 2002 by the Queen, who called on the sports people of the Commonwealth to assemble again in Melbourne in four years time.

"May they display friendship and concord," she said. "So that the spirit of our family of nations may be carried on with every enthusiasm and honour for the good of humanity and the peace of the world."

Indeed, the words 'Seek Peace' were spelled out by the lights of 2,000 lanterns.

And then the party began with a drive-past ballet of 40 Morris Minors, from one of which emerged two Coronation Street stars, Ashley and Maxine (Stephen Arnold and Tracy Shaw).

Throw in 38,000 balloons, 100 academy soccer stars from Manchester United and Manchester City performing their footballing skills, musical stars including Dave Stewart, Jimmy Cliff, Toploader, Ms Dynamite, Pop Idol winner Will Young and Grandmaster Flash.

And also Heather Small of M People who sang 'Proud' after 11 days in Manchester when there was much to be proud of.

On the track and in the pool, in the velodrome and at all points where the elite and the merely enthusiastic have joined to lend credibility to the 'Friendly Games'.

True, there was the marathon runner from the Norfolk Islands who finished so far behind the rest he might have had to turn off the lights when he left the stadium.

And there was 14-year-old Nigerian swimmer Otiko Kpiliboh, 'Otiko the Otter' as he was dubbed, who sloshed in two lengths behind the rest of the field.

There was the inevitable drugs shame, though thankfully the scare surrounding 100m winner Kim Collins was more to do with administrative incompetence than cheating, and there were ugly scenes at the women's hockey when the gold medal descended into golden goal farce.

But in the main it has been fun and Games this past fortnight in Manchester.

And for that, if London should win the Olympic Games in 2012, the capital should be truly thankful.