The Olympic Games are no longer the amateurish competition envisioned by the Pierre de Coubertin when he founded the International Olympic Committee in 1894, they have now become a sports and gymnastic spectacle that is viewed worldwide with spectators on the edges of their seats throughout the games where professional athletes from all over the world compete and prove themselves. The main Olympic sports are archery, athletics, modern pentathlon, track cycling, shooting, swimming, and weight-lifting.
Olympic Highlights
The 2016 Olympic Games held at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil were no different. They were one of the widely viewed Olympic Games in the world, with a number of records being broken and new records being set and also a number of first wins for various countries including Fiji, Jordan and Kosovo. A total number of twenty-seven world records were set in this year’s Olympic Games, the most important one being South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk breaking Michael Johnson’s seventeen year old 400m record. Another first for the Rio Olympics of the 2016 was when USA’s Abbey D’Agostino and New Zealand’s Nikki Hamblin were given Olympic Spirit medal to award them for stopping during their 5000m semi-final to help each other.
https://www.olympic.org/news/tokyo-2020-delivers-a-surprise-at-rio-2016-closing-ceremony
The Grand Finale
The Olympic Closing Ceremony is a significant event marking the extinguishing of the Olympic torch by the year’s hosts and the handing it over to the hosts for the next Olympics. As of now the next Olympic Games are to be held in the year 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. The Olympic flag was taken by mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes and handed to IOC president Thomas Bach, and was then handed to Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike.
https://www.olympic.org/photos/rio-2016/closing-ceremony
The closing ceremony of the Rio Olympics 2016 was carried out in true Brazilian fashion by turning the Maracanã Stadium into a street festival – which is of cultural significance in Brazil. Even though there was heavy rainfall during the ceremony, but the spirit was not brought down. The ceremony started with interpretive dances. A major highlight of the ceremony was when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made his entry in by emerging out of a green pipe dressed as Mario from Nintendo’s famous Mario series.
The closing ceremony of the Rio Olympic Games 2016 was a tribute to Rio de Janeiro’s signature event, the Carnival, which is a showcase of Brazil’s rich and vibrant music and dance culture. It was truly one of the most beautiful and vibrant Olympic closing ceremonies in years.