Olympics Closing Ceremony 2016: Start Time, TV Schedule for Summer Finale
The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will come to an end with the traditional closing ceremony at the iconic Maracana Stadium on Sunday, August 21.
Scheduled to start at 8 p.m. local time (midnight BST, 7 p.m. ET), the ceremony is shrouded in secrecy, but after the spectacular opening ceremony, viewers can once again expect quite the show to end the Games.
Here's a look at the TV schedule:
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| Midnight BST | BBC One (UK) |
| 7 p.m. ET | NBC Sports (U.S.) |
Few details have been made public about the closing ceremony so far, but given the fact the Spice Girls, Adele, One Direction, the Rolling Stones, Elton John and other major recording artists all made an appearance in London four years ago, fans should be ready for another major spectacle.
Traditionally, the ceremony features several closing speeches and a passing of the torch to the Games' next hosts, with Tokyo set to welcome the 2020 games.
The ceremony will also honour a host of special guests, with the likes of U.S. secretary of the army Eric Fanning already confirming their presence:
Former NBA star Jason Collins will also be part of the American delegation:
Brazilian football legend Pele was unable to attend the opening ceremony due to illness, and he had taken to Twitter to say he could make it to Rio in time to attend the closing ceremony, per NBC Sports' Nicholas Mendola. However, Reuters' Karolos Grohmann later revealed the iconic striker will not take part in the celebrations.
Brazilian director Rosa Magalhaes will be in charge of the ceremony, which will honour the more than 11,000 athletes who took part in the Games over the course of 306 events.
The American delegation will have every reason to smile, as the nation comfortably finished at the top of the medal table, but Great Britain have enjoyed a very productive run through the Games as well, grabbing their first gold medals in the men's gymnastics, among others.
While the 2016 Summer Olympics were far from perfect―the green diving pool comes to mind, via Bleacher Report UK―the Games can be described as an overall success, featuring plenty of performances that won't be soon forgotten.
Between Michael Phelps' dominance in the pool, Simone Biles' emergence as one of the greatest gymnasts in recent history, Usain Bolt's record-setting third gold in the 100-metre sprint and Wayde van Niekerk breaking Michael Johnson's 400-metres record, there was something for everyone, and it may be some time before we see such an elite group of athletes competing together again.
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