Photos: Tokyo’s dazzling closing ceremony
Testing on staging11
TOKYO (AP) — IOC President Thomas Bach declared the Games closed after the French flag was raised inside Olympic Stadium for the transition to Paris 2024. After a short performance in the stadium, the cauldron closed around the Olympic flame, extinguishing it.
The ceremony included a ska band on a stage with people dancing, juggling and soccer players moving around an elevated stage in the center of the stadium.
Medals for the marathon were presented — an Olympic tradition — followed by traditional Japanese dances inside the stadium and on the videoboard.
An opera singer performed during the International Olympic Committee anthem, then the transition to Paris 2024 that included a flyover in front of thousands of fans in front of the Eiffel Tower.
TOKYO, JAPAN – AUGUST 08: Fireworks are displayed over the Olympic Stadium during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics on August 8, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) 
TOKYO, JAPAN – AUGUST 08: The Olympic cauldron is seen during the Closing Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 08, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) 
TOKYO, JAPAN – AUGUST 08: Performers during the Closing Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 08, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) 
TOKYO, JAPAN – AUGUST 08: General view during the Closing Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 08, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images) 
TOKYO, JAPAN – AUGUST 08: President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach during the Closing Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 08, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) 
TOKYO, JAPAN – AUGUST 08: The Olympic flag flies alongside the Japan and Greece national flags during the Closing Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 08, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) 
TOKYO, JAPAN – AUGUST 08: Members of Team United States during the Closing Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 08, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) 
TOKYO, JAPAN – AUGUST 08: Members of Team during the Closing Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 08, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) 
TOKYO, JAPAN – AUGUST 08: Laura Kenny of Team GB carries the Union Flag during the Closing Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 08, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) 
PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 08: French Elite acrobatic team Patrouille de France flyes over the Eiffel Tower during the Olympic Games handover ceremony on August 08, 2021 in Paris, France. On August 8, during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris, will officially receive the Olympic flag for the handover ceremony to mark Paris 2024 Olympic Games (July 26-August 11) and Paralympics (August 28-September 8). (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images) 
Fireworks go off around the Olympic Stadium during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, as seen from outside the venue in Tokyo on August 8, 2021. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP) (Photo by KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP via Getty Images)