Rio Olympics 2016 Closing Ceremony: As it happened..

Courtesy: Twitter (@Olympics)

New Delhi: Welcome to the Live coverage of the 2016 Rio Olympics Closing Ceremony, being held at the Maracana Stadium.

---

Thank you, Rio! See you in #Tokyo2020!  pic.twitter.com/vMCsNBOcn0 — Olympics (@Olympics) August 22, 2016

Last moments of the #Rio2016 #OlympicFlame! #ClosingCeremony pic.twitter.com/wXGWgnkIgf — Olympics (@Olympics) August 22, 2016

06:52 AM IST: Thomas Bach, International Olympic Committee chief, declares the Rio Games closed

06:40 AM IST:  I'm the happiest man in the world. The best place in the world is here! - President of the organizing committee, Carlos Nuzman

06:18 AM IST: Tokyo governor and Thomas Bach on stage. Official handover for 2020 begins.

06:15 AM IST: New IOC members introduced - Sarah Walker, Yelena Isinbayeva, Daniel Gyurta, Ryu Seung-min and Britta Heidemann

The marathon Olympic medalists! #ClosingCeremony #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/nRrbrxiYPH — Olympics (@Olympics) August 22, 2016

#Marathon medal ceremony! #ClosingCeremony #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/INZminYcZ1 — Olympics (@Olympics) August 22, 2016

05:43 AM IST:"Olympic Channel" being launched! It's a digital site to keep the spirit of the Games alive year round

05:40 AM IST: Athletes from around the globe mix together and dance to the Closing Ceremony music!

05:38 AM IST: Japanese athletes walk in with Japan & Brazil flags in honour of the handover tonight. Tokyo is the next host.

Members from Team #GBR sport some pretty snazzy shoes which light up during the Rio 2016 #ClosingCeremony ! @TeamGB pic.twitter.com/a18ocZTsrI — Rio 2016 (@Rio2016_en) August 21, 2016

@JonathanSWest here's the #Rio2016 #OlympicGames medal count pic.twitter.com/ItzDBYt5fd — Rio 2016 (@Rio2016_en) August 21, 2016

#ClosingCeremony #Rio2016 #Olympics #RioToTokyo pic.twitter.com/XwtYe9uSH8 — Olympics (@Olympics) August 21, 2016

05:14 AM IST: Simone Biles with the USA flag! The gymnast won 4 gold and 1 bronze medal.

Here is a sneak peak of the Maracanã backstage at the #Rio2016 #ClosingCeremony ! pic.twitter.com/zTtk4XSBro — Rio 2016 (@Rio2016_en) August 21, 2016

#olympics #rio2016 #closingceremony pic.twitter.com/DBhJlWPIEr — Olympics (@Olympics) August 21, 2016

Martinho da Vila seranades the Maracanã with his song Carinhoso as the crowd light the stadium up #ClosingCeremony pic.twitter.com/Nz4BxI8bsq — Rio 2016 (@Rio2016_en) August 21, 2016

04:48AM IST :Athletes march with the national flags! Sakshi Malik is the flag-bearer for India.

04:40 AM IST: Brazil's national anthem being sung by 27 children, representing the 26 states and Federal District.

Welcome to the #ClosingCeremony of #Rio2016 #Olympics!  pic.twitter.com/6uYqwUldOV

— Olympics (@Olympics) August 21, 2016

04:30 AM IST: We are set for the closing ceremony of this quadrennial event!

03:50 AM IST: Wrestler Sakshi Malik will be India's flag bearer at the Closing Ceremony which begins at 04:30 AM IST.

---

Sixteen days of non-stop sporting action at the 2016 Rio Olympics will come to an end on 21st  August (22nd August early morning in India) with the closing ceremony at the iconic Maracana stadium. The Rio Games was the first to be held in South America.

Carnival designer Rosa Magalhaes is the creative director of the ceremony, which will be nothing short of a festival.

The 2016 Games will formally see an end when the Olympic Flame, lit by Brazilian marathon runner Vanderlei de Lima, will be extinguished.

Right here, you can get live coverage of 2016 Rio Olympics closing ceremony.