Plumed figures appear as part of the closing ceremony in the Maracana stadium at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
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The Games have been New Zealand’s most successful by total medal count, with 18 medals including four gold.
The Olympic Games in Rio went out with a bang last night with a huge carnival-style closing ceremony.
Music and dancing marked 16 days worth of sporting success on Sunday in the Brazilian capital, with hundreds of the 11,000 athletes who competed parading throughout the stadium.
“These were a marvellous Olympics, in a marvellous city”, said International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach.
Building on from such memorable torch-passing moments as the inflatable kangaroo parade when Atlanta handed off to Sydney, Rio and Tokyo cooked up something a little bit special.
“Over the last 16 days a united Brazil inspired the world, in hard times for all of us, with its irresistible joy for life”.
The first Games in South America faced many challenges, ranging from empty seats at the venues to security concerns, all while the host nation was going through its worst economic crisis since the 1930s.
Athletes from the United States dance during the closing ceremony in the Maracana stadium at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
Brazil is also undergoing a political crisis, with unpopular acting President Michel Temer not attending the Games’ close after being booed at the opening ceremony.
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Then, back in the real-life ceremony at Maracana Stadium, video game sound effects played as Abe emerged from a pipe prop dressed like Mario, holding a red glowing ball.
