A spectacular Closing Ceremony brought an end to 17 action-packed days in iconic venues as Tokyo takes the flag
Records were broken, history was made, superstars born and legends emerged at the Rio 2016 Olympics came to an end after 17 amazing days full of thrill, excitement and records.
The United States topped the medal tally with a total count 121 medals while Great Britain and China finished second and third positions with 67 and 70 medals respectively.
One of the biggest cheers of the night came when Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appeared dressed as computer game character Super Mario, rising out of a huge green pipe in the stadium.
The ceremony, watched by billions around the world, featured the parade of athletes and a dramatic extinguishing of the Olympic flame.
In the closing ceremony, IOC president Thomas Bach said: “Brazil we love you, thank you for your warm hospitality. Over the last 16 days a united Brazil inspired the world, in difficult times for all of us, with its irresistible joy of life. You gave many reasons to be proud. These Games demonstrated that diversity is an enrichment for everyone. These Games were a celebration of diversity.”
Highlights from the closing ceremony
More than 11,000 athletes, representing 207 nations, competed in 31 sports in Brazil, with 306 sets of medals in Rio de Janeiro. ,
Rio 2016 Olympic Games came to an end with a closing ceremony as breathtaking as the opening.
Memorable moments from the Rio 2016 Olympics
A Games of firsts
The Rio Games brought first medals for Fiji, Jordan and Kosovo – and all three opened their accounts with gold, Fiji in the first Olympic rugby sevens competition.
Competitors from Bahrain, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Vietnam and Tajikistan also won their first Olympic titles in Rio 2016.
A Games of records
Twenty-seven world records were set in Rio within the seven Olympic sports that recognise them – archery, athletics, modern pentathlon, track cycling, shooting, swimming and weightlifting. American Ledecky claimed two of those, in the women’s 400m and 800m freestyle. Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana smashed the world record in women’s 10,000m gold medal in 29 minutesto claim gold.
Rio 2016 – End of an era for 2 amazing atheletes
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt said goodbye to the Olympics by winning an unprecedented ‘triple triple’. The 30-year-old Jamaican won his seventh, eighth and ninth gold medals by claiming the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay titles for the third Games in succession.
US swimmer Michael Phelps, meanwhile, took his medal tally to 28 from five Olympics by winning six in Rio – five of which were golds. The 31-year-old’s efforts helped the US top the medal table with 121, their most successful ‘away’ Games.
Tokyo 2020 Olympics
The ceremony featured the symbolic handover of the Olympic flag. Rio mayor Eduardo Paes returned it to IOC president Bach, before it was passed to Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike.
Tokyo, which will host the 2020 Olympics, is picking up the baton from Rio. The idea to put Mario center stage in Rio came from the Tokyo organizing committee, said Nintendo spokesman Yasuhiko Minagawa.