Despite the courageous and determined efforts of the host nation, the Summer Games came to a surreal and somewhat saddening conclusion Sunday night.
Performance highlights tended to lean on traditional culture: An interpretive dance representing Japan’s indigenous Ainu people and a song sequence referencing Japan’s summer festival of Obon. Other brief interludes — one performed by DJ Matsunaga, a world champion Japanese scratch DJ; another by a taiko drummer — brought welcomed bursts of energy to the show.
The traditional parade of athletes was also conspicuously thin since organizers had requested that all competitors fly out of Japan within 48 hours of their final event, leaving only a portion behind to participate in the closing night. The official Olympic handoff to Paris, host of the 2024 Summer Games, served to further highlight the somber scene in Tokyo. A live feed from the French capital showed a huge crowd of Parisians, many of them unmasked, gathered in celebration in front of the Eiffel Tower. The sequence ended with a formation of fighter jets swooping over the city streaming smoke in the colors of the French flag.
IOC chairman Thomas Bach used his speech to thank the athletes for “giving millions around the world hope” during the pandemic, and he extended his gratitude to the people of Japan for their determined hosting of the Games amid unprecedentedly trying circumstances.
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