The 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which began without spectators on July 23 due to coronavirus, concluded with a closing ceremony on Sunday.
During the ceremony, which was held without fans, athletes carried flags from all countries to the center of the field.
The athletes, who did not leave Tokyo after their competitions, came to the field and participated in the closing event.
The Olympic Stadium also hosted spectacular fireworks show, concerts, and parades. Volunteers working during the Games were also given the plaques.
“The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 are the Olympic Games of hope, solidarity and peace,” said International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach at the closing ceremony.
“These were unprecedented Olympic Games. It took us, the IOC and our Japanese partners and friends, an equally unprecedented effort to make them happen. We did it together,” he added.
Olympic flag passes to France
The Olympic flag was passed to France as the next Olympics will be held in Paris in 2024.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike handed over the Olympic flag to International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, who then passed it on to Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris for the 2024 Games.
After the handover ceremony, the national anthem of France was played, and the introduction film of the Paris Games was projected on the stadium’s screens.
Bach took the podium with medalists from every continent to deliver a speech, congratulating the athletes who fought with the unifying power of sports.
“For the first time since the pandemic began, the entire world came together. Sport returned to center stage. Billions of people around the globe were united by emotion, sharing moments of joy and inspiration. This gives us hope. This gives us faith in the future,” he said. “You, the best athletes of the world, could only make your Olympic dream come true because Japan prepared the stage for you to shine.”
The Olympic closing ceremony ended after the Tokyo Olympic flame was extinguished.
US tops medal table
The US topped the medal table at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, taking home 113 medals in total.
The US completed the Tokyo Games with 39 gold, 41silver, and 33 bronze, followed by China with 88 medals, including 38 gold, 32 silver, and 18 bronze.
Japan came third in the medal standings with 58 medals, including 27 gold, 14 silver, and 17 bronze.
Turkey placed 35th in the standings with 13 medals, including two gold, two silver, and nine bronze.
PH top-performing Asean team
The Philippines, represented by 19 athletes, walked away as the best in Southeast Asia after bringing home its first-ever gold medal, two silvers, and one bronze medal.
Veteran weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz ended the country’s 97 years of waiting for the first Olympic gold after winning it all in a women’s weightlifting event, while while the boxing team amassed the bulk of the medals, two silvers from Paalam and Nesthy Petecio and a bronze from Eumir Marcial.
“After 97 years of waiting, we finally achieved what has been otherwise an elusive dream for decades, our first Olympic gold. Add to this the joy of witnessing the most prolific delegation in terms of medal haul, exceeding past productions in past Olympic editions,” the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) said in a statement on Saturday.
The PSC congratulated the athletes and thanked all the stakeholders both from the government and private sectors and the Filipino people for the support they provided for the successful campaign of the Filipino athletes in Tokyo. .
“Public-private partnerships work when they are united in a goal for the common good. Maraming Salamat po! (Thank you very much),” it said.
“Gratitude needs to be given to the biggest contributor of support, the Filipino people. Your taxes funded our athletes along the course of their athletic journey. More than this, your trust, prayers and enthusiasm provided our athletes with more determination and motivation to come home winners and make us all proud. Putting it in our context, we say it takes a nation to realize a dream,” it added.
Source: Philippines News Agency
