On a humid Sunday night in Tokyo, the extraordinary 2020 Olympic Games came to a close.
For 17 days this summer, the world watched a Games that was at once unifying, polarizing, surreal and indelible. Held even as the COVID-19 pandemic forced Japan into a nationwide state of emergency, with sparsely populated stands and rigorous health and safety protocols, athletes overcame upended training routines to deliver moments that won’t be forgotten.
These Games were remarkable for Canadian athletes. Canada won 24 medals overall, the most for the nation at a non-boycotted Summer Olympics, and beat the 22 earned in Rio de Janeiro five years ago.
And now, with one final spectacle, it’s over.
The Closing Ceremony unfolded within Japan’s sprawling, 68,000-seat Olympic stadium and, in a final testament to the logistical challenges of organizing a Games amid a pandemic, only a few hundred journalists and volunteers were present as in-person spectators. Here are the best sights and sounds from the Games’ finale.
The Olympic flame burns as athletes and volunteers carry flags during the closing ceremony in the Olympic Stadium at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (Vincent Thian/AP)
Together, athletes arrive at the stadium
Unlike the Opening Ceremony, in which athletes march into the stadium divided by country, during the Closing Ceremony they arrive together, symbolically showing that we are all one people.
Fewer athletes were at the Closing Ceremony than in prior years. For pandemic-related reasons, athletes had to leave Japan 48 hours after their last event.
This meant Canadian icons like Penny Oleksiak, who became the country’s most decorated Olympian these Games, were not in attendance.
Olympic decathlon champion Damian Warner was Canada’s flag-bearer for the Closing Ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics. Warner won the country’s first ever decathlon gold medal with a stellar performance across the event’s 10 disciplines, finishing with a score of 9,018 points.
Damian in denim
Canada's closing ceremony flag-bearer, Damian Warner, has entered the stadium pic.twitter.com/fiXRTDbpFj
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) August 8, 2021
Welcome, flagbearers!
The athletes enter the Olympic Stadium together – a moment to remember that, while we may come from all over the world, @Tokyo2020 has proven that we are always #StrongerTogether. #Tokyo2020 #ClosingCeremony pic.twitter.com/Wz8tnkb3mC
— Olympics (@Olympics) August 8, 2021
Turns out the best way to accessorize a jean jacket is with gold pic.twitter.com/9KKUFIgUCC
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) August 8, 2021
— Olympics (@Olympics) August 8, 2021
Oh look it's #TeamCanada's flag bearer Damian Warner#Tokyo2020 | #ClosingCeremony pic.twitter.com/jV6F2knqJk
— Team Canada (@TeamCanada) August 8, 2021
Those @TeamCanada jackets! #ClosingCeremony pic.twitter.com/qIl8cblFfq
— #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) August 8, 2021
Wave it loud, wave it proud @DamianWarner
(: @TeamCanada + @GettySport) pic.twitter.com/3j1H8007nJ
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) August 8, 2021
The parade of athletes has begun!
The athletes walk in together to celebrate everything they have given these past few weeks.
Alone we are small but together we are giants!#StrongerTogether | #ClosingCeremony | #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/YvACHlXcUE
— Olympics (@Olympics) August 8, 2021
You know it’s a good night when you end up on the stage at the #Olympics closing ceremony #TeamCanada #RUSH #denimishot pic.twitter.com/DZ9MVRV98a
— Christine Sinclair (@sincy12) August 8, 2021
Light up the night
As is all-but expected at Olympic ceremonies, fireworks lit the sky. But that was far from the only captivating element in the curtain-closing show.
The Closing Ceremony incorporated several Japanese cultural touchstones, including taiko drumming, Harajuku street fashion, J-pop hits and Ainu dance — elements that were largely missing from the Opening Ceremony.
Speeches were delivered, too.
Seiko Hashimoto, the president of the Tokyo Olympic committee, thanked all the volunteers who helped make the Olympics a success and reminded the world that Tokyo isn’t done: the Paralympics are next.
A performer plays a traditional Japanese Taiko drum during the closing ceremony in the Olympic Stadium at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (Vincent Thian/AP)
Lighting up the closing ceremony
A display of beautiful, luminous colours swirl together, representing the many flags of the world and form the Olympic Rings pic.twitter.com/llnEHt492u
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) August 8, 2021
— Olympics (@Olympics) August 8, 2021
Images of the #Tokyo2020 volunteers are projected into the Olympic Stadium in recognition of all of their hard work! #Arigato2020 pic.twitter.com/TbGDkhpGmH
— Olympics (@Olympics) August 8, 2021
Fireworks explode during the closing ceremony in the Olympic Stadium at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (David Goldman/AP)
The performers at the Olympic Games #Tokyo2020 #ClosingCeremony have been outstanding! pic.twitter.com/p81INmmM3k
— #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) August 8, 2021
Had to end the #ClosingCeremony with a little sprinkling of some more fireworks! pic.twitter.com/95hJKzCAGm
— #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) August 8, 2021
Un nouveau chapitre des Jeux
A fundamental part of every Closing Ceremony is not just looking back, but looking forward, too.
These Games were no exception, setting the stage for the Paris Games which will take place three years from now.
After celebrating Japanese culture with song and dance, Paris was giving the floor for about 10 minutes, inviting the world to France in 2024.
From the lights of Tokyo to the streets of Paris
The Olympic flag is passed from the Governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, to the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo pic.twitter.com/B3IiHKZido
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) August 8, 2021
Bonjour, Paris
See you in 2024 pic.twitter.com/HX0rsmxeAx
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) August 8, 2021
Bonjour, France!
The #FRA national flag is raised, an invitation to the world to attend the next Olympic Games! @Paris2024, we can't wait to see what you have in store in just three years' time.#Paris2024 #ClosingCeremony #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/Q4nNnxFmDt
— Olympics (@Olympics) August 8, 2021
Let's get it started!
Les Jeux Olympiques de #Paris2024 commencent !
Ouvrons ensemble un nouveau chapitre des Jeux.Together, let’s write a new chapter of the Olympic Games.
— Paris 2024 (@Paris2024) August 8, 2021
The flame goes out
The Olympic cauldron, lit by Naomi Osaka two weeks ago, burned on the stadium floor throughout this final celebration.
And then, at last, it was doused, marking the end to Tokyo 2020 and signalling the beginning of the wait until the next Games begin — six months from now, in Beijing for the Winter Olympics.
Arigato Tokyo
From, Canada pic.twitter.com/FOs9XkJI8W
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) August 8, 2021
From the bottom of our hearts
Thank you pic.twitter.com/NVcUUPkfer
— #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) August 8, 2021
The Olympic flame is extinguished during the closing ceremony in the Olympic Stadium at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (Aaron Favila/AP)
You will be missed
You did an incredible job
Have a rest pic.twitter.com/eXCOM3cQ31— #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) August 8, 2021
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