Olympics 2020 closing ceremony highlights: Arigato Tokyo, Bonjour Paris

IOC chief Thomas Bach declares the Tokyo Games, closed!

Take a look at countries with highest cash-rewards for their medalists! 

Check out: India among countries with highest cash-rewards for Olympic medalists - Check out the complete list

 Bonjour Paris!

Paris all set for 2024 Olympics!

Spectators gather for the transmission of the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, at the fan village of The Trocadero in front of The Eiffel Tower.

Medal ceremony during the closing ceremony

Dancers and musicians perform during the closing ceremony

Glimpses of closing ceremony!

World comes together to thank Tokyo!

Countries pour in

Bronze-medalist Bajrang Punia carries India's flag 

Sayonara Tokyo! 

The closing ceremony kicks off!

Beautiful Tokyo! 

The Tokyo Olympics earned praises for being the first gender-equal Games. Read in detail about female representation from India at Olympics. 

"The graph shows upward curve in female representation from India at Olympics, with some positives to look forward to, but still, more efforts are needed so that negatives like poor health management, lack of training facilities, lesser promotion etc do not create hurdles."

Well they were definitely not edible!

Organisers had informed that medals are made from recycled consumer electronics and podiums from old plastic. 

With the end of waterpolo final, now all 339 Tokyo 2020 medals have been awarded!

But stay with us for the closing ceremony. 

USA goes past China! India's best ever Olympics tally - check out the list 

For the whole list, see: This is India's best ever rank-finish in Olympics since 1980 - check out complete standings

Reminder alert:

WHEN AND WHERE TO WATCH THE CLOSING CEREMONY

With all eyes on the event of the final day, here is how to watch today's grand closing ceremony: 

Time: 4.30 pm Indian Standard Time (8:00 pm JST). 
 

Venue: Olympic Stadium in Tokyo
 

Telecast: In India will be aired on Sony TEN 1 HD/SD, Sony TEN 2 HD/SD. It will available in regional languages on Sony TEN 3 HD/SD. 
 

Live streaming: In India on SonyLiv. Follow this blog otherwise!

IOC Thomas Bach calls Tokyo 2020 very successful

For more, read: IOC chief Thomas Bach calls Tokyo Olympics 2020 'very successful'

Fake news alert

For full story, read: Tokyo Olympics: Did Pakistan's javelin thrower wish Neeraj Chopra? Here's truth behind viral tweet

Cuba gets another gold!

The throw that won India its first-ever gold in Olympics!

WATCH: 

Gold-medalist Neeraj Chopra speaks to WION

Indian Army to Olympic gold: India Javelin thrower, Neeraj Chopra's lesser known journey in pictures

Check out the complete gallery at: Indian Army to Olympic gold: India Javelin thrower, Neeraj Chopra's lesser known journey in pictures

Historic medal for the hosts!

Team USA win gold in women's basketball! 

WHEN AND WHERE TO WATCH THE CLOSING CEREMONY

With all eyes on the event of the final day, here is how to watch today's grand closing ceremony: 

Time: 4.30 pm Indian Standard Time (8:00 pm JST). 
 

Venue: Olympic Stadium in Tokyo
 

Telecast: In India will be aired on Sony TEN 1 HD/SD, Sony TEN 2 HD/SD. It will available in regional languages on Sony TEN 3 HD/SD. 
 

Live streaming: In India on SonyLiv. Follow this blog otherwise!

Some glimpses of Technology during the Tokyo Olympics!

Checkout the complete gallery at: Olympics 2020: Technology at Tokyo Games is exceptional; it promises sustainability too

Jason Kenny comfortably won the final after making an early move. His gold is Team GB's 21st in Tokyo.

Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge won the Olympic men's marathon with a commanding performance in Sapporo, winning his second straight gold medal and cementing his place among the all-time greats of the sport.

Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands took silver and Belgium's Bashir Abdi won bronze.

Kipchoge, 36, joins Ethiopia's Abebe Bikila (1960 and 1964) and East Germany's Waldemar Cierpinski (1976 and 1980) as the only runners to win back-to-back gold medals on the Olympic stage.

The are the events scheduled for the final day. 

Watch how closing ceremonies happened in the past. 

Now the time has come for Japan to douse its more than year-old Olympic flame today. 

From Coronavirus pandemic to brutal heat conditions, the Tokyo Olympics Games have finally come to its conclusion day after facing a flurry of challenges. Tokyo Games was kicked off on July 23 after a year-long delay due to COVID-19, however, the event retained the Tokyo 2020 name for marketing and branding purposes. 

The theme of the closing ceremony is "Worlds We Share", which will give a moment for each and every one of us to think about what the future holds and expresses the idea that each of us inhabits our own world. 

Besides record-shattering performances, there were some other good things that happened at the Tokyo Games. Four new sports debuted (Karate, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing) and both baseball and softball made a return. More mixed-gender events were added in efforts to increase gender equality at the Games. The first openly transgender Olympians competed along with other queer athletes. 

The Tokyo Olympics was unique in its own way and the organisers must get the credit for preventing the Games from spiralling into a COVID-19 superspreader event, a remarkable achievement given that some 50,000 people came together amid the pandemic.

There will be no fans inside Olympic Stadium for the event and even the contingents will have lesser athletes as compared to the opening ceremony as many athletes have already travelled back to their home countries due to COVID-19 protocols. Athletes were required to leave Japan within 48 hours of the completion of their competition or when they are eliminated (whichever is sooner). 

Now, Japan is due to hand over the Olympic baton to the next host city, Paris, at a ceremony that starts at 4:30pm IST (8:00 pm JST) on August 8. 

Stay with us to get all the updates on events scheduled for the final day followed by the closing ceremony!