Rio olympics 2016 Closing Ceremony fireworks

Rio olympics 2016 Closing Ceremony fireworks
The Rio Olympics ended with a spectacular carnival-inspired closing ceremony, and the official handover to 2020 hosts Tokyo.

The colourful ceremony, lasting almost three hours, celebrated Brazil's arts and was held in a wet Maracana.

Among the highlights were Tokyo's impressive showcase and a vibrant carnival parade.

"These were a marvellous Olympics, in a marvellous city," said International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach.

"Over the last 16 days a united Brazil inspired the world, in difficult times for all of us, with its irresistible joy for life."

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.

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.

Women's hockey captain Kate Richardson-Walsh carried the flag for Great Britain, who finished the Games with 67 medals - their highest tally at an overseas Olympics.

Super-heavyweight boxer Joe Joyce had earlier won Britain's final medal of Rio 2016 - a silver - as they finished second in the medal table to the United States,
After two long weeks, the 2016 Rio Olympics will officially come to a close Sunday night at 7 p.m. ET.
If you aren’t ready to say goodbye just yet, don’t worry. NBC’s coverage will run from 7 to 9:30 p.m. ET, giving you plenty of time for closure.
The show will be directed by a Brazilian professor of sceneography and one of the creative directors of the Opening Ceremony.
The closing ceremony will star Norwegian electronic musician Kygo, who spent a large part of his childhood in Brazil. At the end of the ceremony, IOC President Thomas Bach will give the closing remarks and pass the Olympic flag to the governor of Tokyo who will oversee the 2020 Games.