Closing ceremony!

I was very moved by the Japanese drummer and the Ainu dancer's Dance in remembrance of all those who died among her people : the  Ainu and indigenous people who were persecuted for centuries:

" The ceremony took a moment to remember and reflect on the difficult past year. A single dancer stood on stage, wearing a green and brown costume meant to evoke a tree. "Even if the outer layer is no longer alive, the trunk continues to live on and strengthen its centuries-old connection to the earth and land in which its roots stretch deep," the organizers said. People surrounded the stage and slowly walked, holding softly lit lanterns."

"You inspired us with this unifying power of sport. This was even more remarkable given the many challenges you had to face because of the pandemic," Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, told the athletes. "You give the world the most precious of gifts – hope."


The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, The first woman to to hold this office,  received the Olympic flag.  The handover to Paris for the 2024 Olympics!  


"The program ended with a handover to the Paris organizers, and a preview of the Games to come there in 2024. A video from the Paris organizers included a bike ride around the rooftops of Paris starring French BMX athletes, and a massive flag with the Paris 2024 logo unfurling over the Eiffel Tower. According to the Paris organizers, it is the largest flag ever flown — nearly the size of a football field."   (The weather conditions were such that the flag didn't actually fly today! But has earlier.)  


The Marseillaise - French Anthem - was played by musicians all over Paris and even by Thomas Pesquet on his saxophone from the International Space Station as a symbol of the Olympics' universality.


Do watch this video if you haven't seen the death defying bikes!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/olympics/58139067

Quotes from here!

All in all a great closing ceremony!