
The Rio Games are over. International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach told the crowd Sunday at Maracaña Stadium that the host city had closed the 2016 event after completing its handover to Tokyo, the 2020 host of the Summer Games.
More closure came when the Olympic flame in the stadium was doused as Brazilian singer Mariene de Castro performed. A cascade of rain was part of the production, although it likely seemed hardly necessary to the thousands in attendance, particularly the athletes, who had been pelted with rain the entire evening.
Of course, true to the spirit of the host city, that moment did not douse the party spirit at the stadium. More fireworks went off, akin to the start of the Closing Ceremonies, and the infectious samba music started up again — in a tribute to the annual Carnival — all the better to keep everyone dancing out the door.