Tokyo Olympics draw to a close
The Tokyo Olympics drew to a close Sunday night after more than two weeks of a competition held amid extraordinary restrictions and mostly behind closed doors, with athletic feats performed for a world still struggling against the coronavirus.
Hundreds of athletes gathered in a nearly empty National Stadium to bid farewell to the largest global sporting event since the start of the pandemic early last year and to a game that looked like no other in history.
The Olympic flag that was raised at the 68,000-seat stadium during the opening ceremony was lowered. Tokyo Gov Yuriko Koike handed it to International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach Bach, who in turn passed it to Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, handing the baton to the host city of the next Summer Games in 2024.
Crown Prince Fumihito, the younger brother of Emperor Naruhito, attended the ceremony, where the flame lit in Greece before the unprecedented postponement of the games in March 2020 and that burned in the sphere-shaped cauldron throughout the games will be extinguished.
During the ceremony, titled “Worlds We Share,” Ryo Kiyuna, who claimed Japan's first karate gold medal, carried the flag of the host country into the stadium that was transformed into a grassy space resembling a park in Tokyo to allow athletes, who were unable to go out to see the sights, to get a virtual taste of life in the capital.
Athletes, wearing face masks, walked together into the stadium en masse, while observing physical distancing. Video footage submitted by fans from around the world who could not attend the venues was played on big screens.
The five Olympic rings were created by swirling lights, before live music, including the hit song “Sukiyaki,” made internationally popular by the late Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto in the 1960s, and dance performances rocked the stadium.
Since opening on July 23, about 11,000 athletes from over 200 countries and regions competed in Tokyo and some other parts of Japan while following anti-virus rules such as taking daily COVID-19 tests and limiting their movements largely to venues and the Olympic village.
The Olympics featured 33 sports made up of 339 medal events, with karate, surfing, skateboarding, and sport climbing making their debuts.
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Title: Tokyo Olympics draw to a close
Sourced From: japantoday.com/category/tokyo-2020-olympics/Tokyo-Olympics-draw-to-a-close
Published Date: 08/08/21
