Bach brings Olympics to close

TOKYO, Japan (AP):

The Tokyo Olympics are officially over.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach declared the Games closed after the French flag was raised inside the Olympic Stadium for the transition to Paris 2024. After a short performance in the stadium, the cauldron closed around the Olympic flame, extinguishing it.

The ceremony included a ska band on a stage with people dancing, juggling, and football players moving around an elevated stage in the centre of the stadium.

Medals for the marathon were presented — an Olympic tradition — followed by traditional Japanese dances inside the stadium and on the video board.

An opera singer performed during the IOC anthem, then the transition to Paris 2024 that included a flyover in front of thousands of fans in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Thousands of people, including medallists who have returned from Tokyo, gathered near the Eiffel Tower to welcome the handover of the Olympic flag to Paris.

A flyover by jets from the Patrouille de France (“Patrol of France”) released blue, white, and red smoke — the colours of the French flag — in the sky of the capital.

French President Emmanuel Macron was filmed on the top floor of the Eiffel Tower saying the Olympic slogan, “higher, faster, stronger”, and adding: “Together.”

Organisers planned to unfurl a football-field sized flag with the emblem of Paris 2024 from atop the tower but opted against it due to windy weather.

The Olympic flag was formally handed over to Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

It was followed by a concert performed by French artist Woodkid at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

Paris will organise the Games 100 years after last hosting the Olympics in 1924.