Rio Olympics 2016 Closing Ceremony Highlights: Spectacular Ceremony Draws Curtains on Games
After 16 days of spectacular sporting action, the 2016 Rio Olympics came to an end at Sunday's closing ceremony (Monday early morning in India) in the famed Maracana stadium. The Rio Games was the first to be held in South America. Get highlights of 2016 Rio Olympics closing ceremony here
The Rio Olympics 2016 drew to a close on Sunday (Monday morning in India) after more than two weeks of breathtaking sporting action. Catch highlights of Rio Olympics 2016 closing ceremony here. (NEWS | MEDALS TALLY | VIDEOS)
06:56 IST: The Olympic flame is extinguished to officially bring to an end the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Over to you, Tokyo.
06:48 IST: Thomas Bach, the IOC chief, declares the Rio Olympic Games closed.
06:40 IST: President of the Brazilian Olympic Committee Carlos Nuzman delivers his speech at the Maracana. International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Thomas Bach is next.
06:28 IST: Japan unveil a 'See you in Tokyo' message. The closing ceremony is about to come to and end.
06:27 IST: Pele is definitely a happy man!
I also waited my entire life to see Brazil win a #Gold Medal in #football and now my dream has come true.
- Pele (@Pele) August 21, 2016
06:23 IST: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe enters the Maracana Stadium wearing a Super Mario outfit after a video shows him travelling from Tokyo to Rio in the form of the famous video game character. That's some way of making your entry!
06:20 IST: The national anthem of Japan is being sung.
06:18 IST: The Olympic flag is passed over to the Tokyo governor.
06:10 IST: The closing ceremony is only minutes away from completion. It will be over to Tokyo for the next Summer Olympic Games in 2020.
06:00 IST: The medal ceremony is being held for the men's marathon event.
05:56 IST: The Indian athletes are seen waving goodbye to Rio 2016 at the Maracana.
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05:45 IST: American singer-songwriter Julia Michaels among the performers at the closing ceremoney so far.
05:30 IST: The Olympic Games certainly do a great job of bringing people together.
Athletes from around the globe mix together and dance to the #ClosingCeremony music! #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/OBV9BqevMC
- Rio 2016 (@Rio2016_en) August 22, 2016
05:23 IST: Team GB certainly has the most colourful shoes in Rio today.
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05:18 IST: It's been a colourful closing ceremony in Rio so far.
?? ?? ?? #ClosingCeremony #Rio2016 #Olympics #RioToTokyo pic.twitter.com/zfHnoICEIS
- Olympics (@Olympics) August 21, 2016
05:08 IST: The flag bearers were led out by Greece's Ekaterini Stefanidi as per Olympic tradition. Stefanidi had won the women's pole vault gold medal in Rio.
05:00 IST: Smiles all around as flag bearers of different countries enter the stadium. Gymnast Simone Biles carries the US flag.
04:50 IST: The athletes are entering the Maracana for one last time at the Rio Olympics 2016.
04:45 IST: 27 children, representing Brazil's 26 states and federal district, sing the country's national anthem.
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04:40 IST: A performance from Brazilian musical group Barbatuques starts off proceedings in the closing ceremony.
04:30 IST: The closing ceremony starts in Rio!
04:05 IST: It's been raining in Rio for some time. The closing ceremony is scheduled to start at 4.30 am IST.
03:30 IST: Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the closing ceremony of Rio Olympics 2016. All events at the quadrennial showpiece have been completed. India has finished 67th in the medal tally, with one silver and one bronze.
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While USA took the top spot in the medal tally, India returned with two medals - PV Sindhu (silver in badminton women's singles) and Sakshi Malik (women's freestyle wrestling - 58kg). The latter will carry the Indian Tri-Colour in the closing ceremony.
A lot many other Indian athletes Abhinav Bindra (10m air rifle), Dipa Karmakar (gymnastics women's vault) and Sania Mirza/Rohan Bopanna (tennis mixed doubles) finished agonising fourth, meaning India could not better their medal tally from the 2012 London Olympics, where they finished with six medals.
Jamaica's Usain Bolt also lighted up the Games with three sprint golds, taking his overall the tally to ninth gold medals. Also, US swimmer Michael Phelps took his overall tally to 23 gold medals.
Like the opening ceremony, the closing ceremony will also be held at the Maracana Stadium in Rio De Janeiro. Carnival designer Rosa Magalhaes is the creative director of the ceremony, and the closing ceremony is expected to be nothing short of a festival.
Four years from now, Tokyo will host the Games again, and they will be given the Olympic flag today. The Japanese will also get opportunity to give a glimpse of their vision for the 2020 Games.
The 2016 Games will formally close with the extinguishing of Olympic Flame, lit by Brazilian marathon runner Vanderlei de Lima.