Olympics
close: Tokyo bids farewell to the Games and hands over to Paris
Light
and music show marks farewell to the Olympic Games
in Japan and the start of the countdown to the
Olympics in France
There
are 1,083 days to go until the Paris 2024
Olympics. The countdown began on Sunday (8th
august) at the Closing Ceremony of the Tokyo
Games. With no audience in the stands, but in
a party atmosphere with a light show and lots of
music, the Japanese celebrated the end of the
Tokyo Olympics and passed the baton over to the
French.
The
Olympic flame was extinguished after 17 days of
fighting in Tokyo arenas marking the end of the
Olympics. For the International Olympic Committee
(IOC) and for the Games Organizing Committee,
having managed to hold the Olympics in times of
coronavirus pandemic was a challenge overcome. A
barrier that everyone hopes will not be repeated
on the way to the Paris Games in 2024.
Tokyo
Governor Yuriko Koike handed the IOC flag to
Thomas Bach, IOC president, who handed the
pavilion to Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris. It was
the symbolic passing of the baton.
The
closing ceremony ended with a call to the Tokyo
Paralympics. The opening of the Paralympic Games
is scheduled for August 24th. Because of the
coronavirus pandemic, Japan had to reduce the
costs of opening and closing ceremonies. Even so,
this Sunday's party was marked by a light show in
the formation of the Olympic rings, symbolizing
the energy of all the fans who could not be in the
stands.
A
lot of Japanese music also transported the
athletes a little closer to the city of Tokyo that
they couldn't get to because of the coronavirus
pandemic. Games participants could only move
between the arenas and the Olympic Village.
As
with the Opening Ceremony, Brazil's participation
was reduced to prevent an outbreak of
coronaviruses. Rebeca Andrade was the standard
bearer in recognition of the gymnast's
achievements, silver in the all-around and gold in
the vault. Boxing champion, Hebert Conceição was
the male representative of the athletes in Brazil.
Francisco Porath, Rebeca's coach, represented
Brazil's coaches.
