Tokyo 2020 closing ceremony: fireworks and protests mark conclusion of Games - in pictures

Extraordinary Olympics come to an end after 16 days of competition

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  Fireworks light up the sky over the Olympic Stadium during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

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  Fireworks above the stadium during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

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  Fireworks go off during the Tokyo Olympics closing ceremony on Sunday, August 8.

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  Fireworks illuminate over National Stadium during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday, August 8, 2021.

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  Fireworks over the Olympic Stadium during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

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  Flag bearers during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 08, 2021.

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  Performers take part in the closing ceremony.

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  People gather near the National Stadium to watch the fireworks during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics.

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  Athletes with their national flag during the closing ceremony of the 2020 Olympic Games, at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo.

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  Performers during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

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  Supporters gather outside the National Stadium ahead of the Tokyo Olympic closing ceremony.

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  Flag bearers of the competing nations enter the stadium during the closing ceremony in Tokyo.

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  From left: President of the IOC Thomas Bach, Japan's Emperor Naruhito, Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike attend the closing ceremony.

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  Fireworks light up the sky during the closing ceremony at the Olympic Stadium.

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  Ukrainian athletes during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

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  Athletes carrying nations' flags walk past the Olympic flame as they enter the stadium during the closing ceremony.

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  Belarus's athletes enter the stadium during the closing ceremony.

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  Members of Team United States enter the stadium during the closing ceremony.

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  Fireworks during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

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  Members of Team Mexico during the closing ceremony.

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  Fireworks above the National Stadium during the closing ceremony.

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  Protesters outside the Japan National Stadium before the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic Games.

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  Flag bearers of the competing nations enter the stadium during the closing ceremony.

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  Athletes enjoy the Tokyo Olympics closing ceremony.

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  Skateboarders perform during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

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  The Olympic cauldron with the Olympic flames during the closing ceremony.

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  Artists perform during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games,

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  Closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

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  Members of Team Australia during the closing ceremony.

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  Skippers perform during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

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  Closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

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  Athletes take a break during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

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  Fireworks go off around the Olympic Stadium during the closing ceremony.

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  Performers take part in the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

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  Performers gather during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

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  Performers during the closing ceremony on Sunday.

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  Children perform during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The Tokyo Olympics drew to a close on Sunday, drawing the curtains on an unprecedented Games held in extraordinary circumstances.

Masked athletes marched into a near-empty stadium in Tokyo on Sunday as Japan prepared to close the 16-day event that was delayed and upended by the pandemic.

The Games, held behind closed doors, concluded on an equally sombre note as many of the best-known athletes had already left Tokyo and were not able to attend Sunday's ceremony; participants are supposed to return home 48 hours after their final competition.

The closing ceremony took place with protesters rallying around the National Stadium. Around a hundred protesters carrying signs that read "Olympics kill the poor" and "We don't need the Olympics" gave another reminder of the contentious nature of this Olympic Games. However, they were outnumbered by the crowd that lined the streets.

Even so, fireworks and a montage of the best moments from the Games celebrated the successful hosting of the Olympics, which seemed almost impossible a few months back.

The Tokyo Games were originally intended to show Japan's recovery from a devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis in 2011. After being postponed for a year, organisers said the Games would serve as a symbol of the world's triumph over the pandemic. But without spectators and with Covid-19 variants resurgent, the Games fell short of triumph and the financial windfall Japan had expected.