Team GB celebrate record medal haul in the Maracana as Rio 2016 reaches colourful conclusion with Olympics closing ceremony

Matt Slater22 August 2016

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach praised Rio's "marvellous Games" during a closing ceremony marked by colour, music and rain at the Maracana Stadium.

But perhaps the most memorable moment of all was Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe's starring role in the traditional handover segment to the next hosts, Tokyo.

In a section that showcased Japan's reputation for design and technology, video screens showed a red ball being passed around various Japanese Olympians and computer game characters, including Super Mario, who then jumped into a green tube.

The other end of that tube had been wheeled into the middle of the Maracana pitch for Abe to emerge from, with the ball and Super Mario's red cap.

The highly polished segment ended with Abe saying to the crowd: "See you in Tokyo."

But that is for the future. What many people in Rio wanted to know is how Bach would describe the Games, as it has become a closing-ceremony custom to refer to each Olympics as 'the best'.

Bach, however, opted for something more neutral, and arguably more honest.

Some of the obstacles Rio faced in staging these Games were inadvertently highlighted during the two-hour celebration, with a less-than-capacity crowd loudly booing city mayor Eduardo Paes during the exchange of the Olympic flag to Tokyo's governor Yuriko Koike.

Paes has poured public money into the Rio Games, largely via state-owned sponsors, but the costs have brought criticism at a time of economic hardship and political turmoil.

In Pictures: Team GB's medal run at Rio 2016 Olympics

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There was also a power cut in the Mangueira favela that meant people there were unable to watch the ceremony on television.

Speaking just before Bach, Rio 2016's organising committee Carlos Arthur Nuzman said: "The Olympics were a great challenge but they were a great success. I am proud of my city and my people."

Bach picked up the baton from Nuzman, thanking the Games' army of volunteers and the athletes whose performances will be remembered long after the memories of Rio's sometimes chaotic organisation have faded.

The 62-year-old German was also quick to herald the example of the first ever team of refugees at the Olympics, saying they were a "symbol of hope to millions of refugees".

But his key message was that Rio had pulled it off.

"These were marvellous Games in the marvellous city, and they leave a unique legacy," he said.

"History will talk about a Rio before the Olympic Games and a much better Rio after the Olympic Games."

He then awarded the symbolic Olympic Cup to eight representatives of the "people of Rio".

Prior to that, the night was dominated by the usual mixture of interpretative dance routines, musical medleys and lots of selfie-taking athletes.

Team GB's large representation caught the eye as they were wearing shoes with flashing lights, which most of them took off and waved during one of the dance numbers.

Slightly more controversially, there was also an advert for the IOC's new £460m Olympic Channel and the introduction of the four new members of the IOC athletes' commission, including Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, the most high-profile critic of the decision to exclude Russia's athletics team from Rio because of its state-run doping programme.

But the crowd gave her a warm reception and, in a nice touch, the new IOC members presented a group of Games volunteers with flowers. There was even a return for Tonga's topless opening ceremony flag-bearer Pita Taukatofua, which was more impressive this time, given the rain.

After Bach officially closed the 31st Olympiad, calling upon the youth of the world to gather again in Tokyo, the music struck up again and those athletes still in the mood turned the Maracana into a giant dance floor, an apt way to end a Games that have certainly been fun.

TEAM GB'S MEDALISTS

GOLD
Adam Peaty, swimming, men's 100 metres breaststroke.
Joe Clarke, canoeing, men's K1.
Jack Laugher and Chris Mears, diving, men's synchronised three metres springboard.
Jason Kenny, Phil Hindes, Callum Skinner, cycling, men's team sprint.
Helen Glover and Heather Stanning, rowing, women's pair.
Alex Gregory, Mohamed Sbihi, George Nash and Constantine Louloudis, rowing, men's four.
Sir Bradley Wiggins, Ed Clancy, Steven Burke and Owain Doull, cycling, men's team pursuit.
Scott Durant, Tom Ransley, Andrew T Hodge, Matt Gotrel, Pete Reed, Paul Bennett, Matt Langridge, William Satch and Phelan Hill (cox), rowing, men's eight.
Laura Trott, Joanna Rowsell-Shand, Katie Archibald, Elinor Barker, cycling, women's team pursuit.
Mo Farah, athletics, men's 10,000 metres.
Max Whitlock, gymnastics, men's floor.
Justin Rose, golf, men's tournament.
Max Whitlock, gymnastics, men's pommel horse.
Jason Kenny, cycling, men's sprint.
Andy Murray, tennis, men's singles.
Charlotte Dujardin, equestrian, dressage individual grand prix freestyle.
Giles Scott, sailing, Finn class.
Laura Trott, cycling, women's omnium.
Jason Kenny, cycling, men's Keirin.
Alistair Brownlee, triathlon, men's race.
Hannah Clark and Saskia Mills, sailing, women's 470.
Jade Jones, taekwondo, women's -57kg.
Nick Skelton, equestrian, individual showjumping.
Great Britain's women, hockey.
Liam Heath, canoeing, men's K1 200 metres.
Nicola Adams, boxing, women's flyweight.
Mo Farah, athletics, men's 5,000 metres.

SILVER
Jazz Carlin, swimming, women's 400 metres freestyle.
Siobhan O'Connor, swimming, women's 200 metres individual medley.
James Guy, Stephen Milne, Dan Wallace, Duncan Scott, Robbie Renwick, swimming, men's 4x200 metres freestyle.
Katherine Grainger and Vicky Thornley, rowing, women's double sculls.
David Florence and Richard Hounslow, canoeing, men's C2.
Men's rugby sevens squad.
Charlotte Dujardin, Carl Hester, Fiona Bigwood and Spencer Wilton, equestrian, team dressage.
Bryony Page, gymnastics, trampolining.
Jazz Carlin, swimming, women's 800 metres freestyle.
Katie Greves, Melanie Wilson, Frances Houghton, Polly Swann, Jessica Eddie, Olivia Carnegie-Brown, Karen Bennett, Zoe Lee and Zoe de Toledo (cox), rowing, women's eight.
Becky James, cycling, women's Keirin.
Chris Walker-Hebborn, Adam Peaty, James Guy, Duncan Scott, swimming, men's 4x100m medley relay.
Jessica Ennis-Hill, athletics, women's heptathlon.
Nick Dempsey, sailing, men's RS:X.
Louis Smith, gymnastics, men's pommel horse.
Callum Skinner, cycling, men's sprint.
Mark Cavendish, cycling, men's omnium.
Becky James, cycling, women's sprint.
Jack Laugher, diving, men's three metres springboard.
Jon Schofield and Liam Heath, canoeing, men's kayak double 200 metres.
Jonny Brownlee, triathlon, men's event.
Lutalo Muhammad, taekwondo, men's -80kg.
Joe Joyce, boxing, men's super-heavyweight.

BRONZE
Ed Ling, shooting, men's trap.
Tom Daley and Dan Goodfellow, diving, men's synchronised 10 metres platform.
Chris Froome, cycling, men's time trial.
Steven Scott, shooting, men's double trap.
Sally Conway, judo, women's -70kg.
Max Whitlock, gymnastics, men's all-around individual.
Greg Rutherford, athletics, men's long jump.
Sophie Hitchon, athletics, women's hammer.
Amy Tinkler, gymnastics, women's floor.
Nile Wilson, gymnastics, men's horizontal bar.
Katy Marchant, cycling, women's sprint.
Josh Buatsi, boxing, men's light-heavyweight.
Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge, badminton, men's doubles.
Asha Philip, Desiree Henry, Dina Asher-Smith, Daryll Neita, athletics, 4x100 metres relay.
Vicky Holland, triathlon, women's race.
Bianca Walkden, taekwondo, women's +67kg.
Eilidh Doyle, Emily Diamond, Anyika Onuora, Christine Ohuruogu, athletics, women's 4x400m relay.

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