World erupts as tiny detail steals the show at Olympic closing ceremony

On Sunday night in Tokyo the curtain officially came down on two-and-a-half weeks of competition that captured the hearts and minds of viewers around the world.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach called the Tokyo Olympics the "Games of hope, solidarity and peace" amid the coronavirus pandemic, as the traditional closing ceremony signalled the end to competition and a look forward to Paris in three years.

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According to tradition, Bach closed the July 23-August 8 Summer Games in the presence of Japanese crown prince Akishino and speaking French invited the youth of the world to the Games of the 33rd Olympiad in Paris 2024.

However, there was one tiny participant who stole the show during proceedings, lighting up the internet with its presence.

A tiny moth - admittedly hard to make out at first - was making an absolute nuisance of itself while officials tried to address those in attendance and the millions watching around the world.

The insect was hovering just near the Olympic symbol on the microphone stand where Olympic Games chief Hashimoto Seiko was standing as she thanked the athletes and everyone who had made the Games so special.

For many viewers though, Seiko's words fell on deaf ears as they were distracted by the uninvited flying visitor who'd decided to crash the party.

Social media quickly lit up with commentary around the moth, with many debating what sort of insect it was.

A clip of one man in attendance also went viral as he was seen furiously trying to swat away the flying pest.

Perhaps the most brilliant move was the user who started a Twitter account called 'Olympic moth' to tweet about finally reaching worldwide fame.

The IOC president thanked the Japanese organisers and the thousands of volunteers for an "unprecedented Olympic Games" and said: "You, the Japanese people, can be extremely proud of what you have achieved."

Olympic Games united the world

Organising committee president Seiko Hashimoto thanked everyone involved in making the Games possible and "our journey isn't finished yet" because the Paralympics follow from August 24.

"In these difficult times you give the world the most precious of gifts: hope," Bach said in his closing speech surrounded by athletes from all continents.

"For the first time since the pandemic began, the entire world came together. Sport returned to centre 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," Bach said, speaking of "Games of hope, solidarity and peace."

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo received the Olympic flag in the Tokyo stadium, a giant flag was shown at the Eiffel Tower while French astronaut Thomas Pesquet played the final chords of the national anthem on a saxophone from the International Space Station.

The French capital has already staged the Games twice, in 1900 and 1924.

Breakdancers showed off their skills ahead of the sport joining the Olympic programme in three years and French president Emmanuel Macron presented the modified Olympic motto "faster, higher, stronger, together."

The French will hope that the pandemic has disappeared by then, after the Tokyo Games were postponed last year and after long doubts and big reservations within Japan took place amid a strict hygiene concept.

Athletes from more than 60 of the 206 nations and teams competing at the Games were no longer present for the ceremony, according to the IOC - mainly because coronavirus rules made athletes leave within 48 hours after their competition.

Organisers said the concept of the ceremony in a park-like setting was to create "a relaxing environment in which the athletes can unwind" after "we had to overcome countless obstacles and resolve many conflicts to hold and open these Games amid the COVID-19 pandemic".

The victory ceremony for the marathons held in Sapporo were part of it all, a ska band and a DJ recreated an afternoon in a Tokyo park before dances from different regions of the country and the original dance from the 1964 Games in Tokyo which received big applause from the athletes.

The ceremony concluded after the extinguishing of the Olympic flame with fireworks and the word Arigato (Thank You) displayed on the screen using the same font as in the 1964 closing ceremony.

with AAP

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