After the playing of the Greek national anthem – a tradition as Greece was the host of the first Games – the Olympic flag was lowered to the sound of the Olympic anthem.
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The 2016 Olympic Games come to a close on Sunday with a closing ceremony in front of over 70,000 spectators at Rio’s Maracana stadium.
Bach officially closed the Games of the 31st Olympiad after 16 days of competition, featuring 11,303 athletes from 206 nations and a refugee team.
To the delight of a crowd gathered at the Maracana stadium Sunday for the closing ceremonies of the Rio Games, a video showed Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, who announces he won’t make it to Rio in time.
“Organizing the games in Rio was a challenge”.
Among the highlights were Tokyo’s impressive showcase and a vibrant carnival parade.
One of the opening ceremony’s biggest stars will return as well.
Rain drenched performers and hundreds of athletes as they entered the party, many with medals hanging around their necks, like the United States men’s basketball team which won gold on Sunday (NZT Monday). Lights flashed translations for the word in many languages, and a group of women sang “Mulher Rendeira”, or “Lace-making Woman”, a nod to the country’s African heritage.
In the midst of its worst economic recession since the 1930s, Brazil’s opening and closing ceremonies relied more on the country’s unique talents and natural beauty and less on expensive technology. She won five medals this Olympics, four golds and a bronze, in the process redefining what many believed possible in the sport of gymnastics.
But there were also ugly episodes, like American swimmer Ryan Lochte’s fabricated story about a harrowing robbery that was actually an intoxicated-fueled vandalism of a gas station bathroom, and freaky issues like Olympic diving pools going from crystal blue to gunky, algae green – at a time when Rio’s water quality in open waters is one of the biggest local environmental issues.
The games had many memorable moments, both for Brazilian competitors at home and athletes from around the world. Abe’s job is to get the ball from Tokyo to the handover in Rio, but he’s running late.
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“We are very resilient, we didn’t leave anything important unaddressed”, said Augusta Porto, 36, a translator and Rio resident.
