The Tokyo Olympic Games have come to an end, and although this delayed, pandemic-plagued event is quite unlike any games in history, one thing has stayed the same - opening and closing ceremonies.
Fireworks go off around the Olympic Stadium during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Photo: AFP or licensors
Dame Valerie Adams was named to be the New Zealand team's flagbearer for the closing ceremony.
A volley of white-and-gold fireworks streaked above the nearly empty Olympic Stadium, emphasising again the oddity of an Olympic Games held without spectators.
The stage looked sparse even as athletes marched in carrying their national flags. Many of the best-known athletes have already left Tokyo and were not able to attend Sunday's event. Athletes are supposed to fly home 48 hours after their final competition.
The Olympics were originally intended to show Japan's recovery from a devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis in 2011. After being postponed for a year, organisers said they would be held as a symbol of the world's triumph over the pandemic.
But without spectators and with Covid-19 variants resurgent, the Olympics fell short of triumph and the financial windfall Japan first sought.
Japan is due to hand over the Olympic baton to the next host city, 2024's Paris, at the ceremony tonight.
Here's a look at some highlights from the start of the ceremony:
Fireworks explode over the Olympic Stadium during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: AFP or licensors
The march of the athletes during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: AFP or licensors
Athletes carrying nations' flags attend the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, at the Olympic Stadium, in Tokyo. Photo: AFP or licensors
A general view of the march of the athletes during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: AFP or licensors
Britain's Laura Kenny carries her national flag during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Photo: AFP or licensors
Flag bearers with their national flags enter during the closing ceremony at Tokyo Olympic Games in National Stadium in Tokyo. Photo: AFP or licensors
The closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games is held at National Stadium in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo. Photo: AFP or licensors
Fireworks go off around the Olympic Stadium during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, in Tokyo. Photo: AFP
The Olympic flag is carried during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, at the Olympic Stadium, in Tokyo. Photo: AFP
Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga , Japan's Emperor Naruhito, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, at the Olympic Stadium, in Tokyo Photo: AFP or licensors
- with Reuters
