LOUD AND PROUD
We leave the party continuing at the Maracana, with spectators dancing in the stands and fireworks blasting into the stormy night sky.
The Rio 2016 Olympic Games are over, but the memories and the legacy of these 16 magical days will live on. For the athletes, for the fans and for a city that took on a great challenge - and kept its promise to deliver a great Games. Tonight Rio hailed its success loudly and proudly, in unison with the athletes whose performances exceeded expectations.
Four years to go until Tokyo 2020? After tonight's thrilling little taster, we can't wait.
(Photo: Getty Images)
#GOLDMEDAL #CLOSINGCEREMONY #RIO2016
This could be the ultimate selfie.
(Photo: Getty Images/Ezra Shaw)
CARIOCA CARNIVAL BROCCOLI SHOW
The party keeps going, the athletes are back on the dancefloor, there are carnival queens parading around the stage, the crowd is in full voice and the whole scene is ablaze with glorious colour.
But most strikingly of all, the stage appears to have been overrun by dancing broccoli.
Olympic spirit and carnival spirit combine... only at Rio 2016.
RETURN OF THE STREET SWEEPER!
Remember Renato Sorriso? He was the plucky waste collector who lit up the London 2012 handover ceremony with his outrageous dancing. Tonight he leads a group of dancers and women dressed in traditional costumers from Bahia. The model Izabel Goulart is getting involved too.
(Photo: Getty Images)
CARNAVAL!
The Games may be over, but the party in Rio is not.
In fact, it looks as though the closing ceremony will be ending just as the opening ceremony did - in that quintessentially Brazilian party, the carnaval. And why not? After 16 marvellous days that no one in the "Marvellous City" will ever forget, it's time to celebrate the hosting of an unforgettable Olympic Games.
(Photo: Getty Images)
WHAT'S THAT SONG?
'Cidade Maravilhosa' performed by numerous samba 'kings'
On the main stage, six samba singers begin singing ‘Cidade Maravilhosa’. These masters of ceremony are the ultimate pep rally leaders since their powerful voices and improvisation stoke the flames of carnival here in Rio de Janeiro and across Brazil. They sing of the ‘marvellous city,’ and perform Rio's anthem. The men are Ito Melodia, Tinga, Ciganerey, Wantuir, Emerson, Leozinho and Mestre Paulinho. Tip your hat!
LET THE MUSIC PLAY
Brazil is rightly proud of its musical heritage, and we've seen some of the best of it showcased tonight. We currently have six samba singers belting out 'Cidade Maravilhosa', which in the 1960s became the official anthem of the city of Rio de Janeiro. They are joined on stage by legendary Brazilian percussionist Mestre Paulinho and his band of men.
FAREWELL TO AN OLD FLAME
The singer and actress Mariene Castro appears in front of the Olympic cauldron to sing 'Pelo tempo que durar'. As the rain soaks her, it also extinguishes the Olympic flame. Meanwhile, a large tree appears. The same water that put out the fire also fuels the renewal of life.
Finally, fireworks. Applause. And tears.
(Photo: Getty Images)
WHAT’S THAT SONG?
‘Pelo tempo que durar’ by Marisa Monte
Singing about ‘the time we have left,’ chanteuse Marisa Monte describes the impermanence of life and nature’s constant change. She sings as the Olympic flame is extinguished with an even larger deluge falls from the rafters.
Remember what we told you about ‘saudade,’ that intangible, untranslatable Portuguese word meaning longing and loss, all wrapped in love and memory? Well, it starts now.
WHAT'S THAT SONG?
'Chovendo na Roseira' by Tom Jobim
How appropriate that this song — written and performed here by Tom Jobim — is about rain. It has hardly stopped coming down at Maracana, and Brazil’s master poet always knew how to capture the mood.
GARDEN PARTY
As the evening approaches its end, we see a tribute to the great Brazilian artist and landscape designer Roberto Burle Marx, with the performers transforming the stadium into a vast Burle Marx garden.
(Photo: Getty Images)
MESSAGE FROM THE MASTER
Pele tweeted earlier tonight about his desire to attend the opening and closing ceremonies. He also expressed his immense joy at seeing Brazil win Olympic gold in football.
The football legend writes that Brazil received the world with open arms and showed everyone the special way of life here.
AN EMOTIONAL GOODBYE
It's a time for tears, a time for happiness and - most of all for Rio - it's a time to be proud. Thomas Bach has declared the Rio 2016 Olympic Games - the "marvellous Olympic Games in the marvellous city" - officially closed.
"We arrived in Brazil as guests, we leave as your friends. You will have a place in our hearts forever," he tells the Maracana to warm applause.
Images
