Ed Sheeran and Sir Elton John appeared shortly afterwards to perform Sheeran's single The A Team, with further performances coming from Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys and country star Carrie Underwood.
Everyone - from Sir Mervyn King, to George Osborne, to Ed Miliband - says we need to come out of this crisis with a different kind of economy, one that is more balanced, less vulnerable to crises.