Olympics Closing Ceremony 2016: Twitter Reacts to Celebration in Rio

Rio de Janeiro officially dropped the curtain on the 2016 Summer Olympics following Sunday night's closing ceremony.

The ceremony got off to an inauspicious start, though.

According to Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo, residents in a favela near Maracana Stadium lost their electricity shortly before the event:

The United States Olympic Committee selected Simone Biles to carry the American flag during the Parade of Flags. Biles won four gold medals and one bronze, becoming one of the most recognizable Team USA stars of the 2016 Games.

USA Gymnastics shared a photo of the 19-year-old holding the flag:

As NBC Olympics tweeted, Biles was a popular figure at the Maracana:

She even got a shoutout from President Barack Obama:

Another top U.S. star wasn't in Rio for the event. Katie Ledecky had a dominant Olympics, capturing four gold medals—including a sweep of the women's freestyle—and a silver medal. She tweeted she was in Brazil in spirit:

The closing ceremony tends to be a toned-down affair compared to its counterpart at the start of the Olympics. The weather didn't help matters, with steady rain coming down into the night. Bobby Big Wheel wasn't impressed with the overall spectacle:

The Globe and Mail's Stephanie Nolen thought about the athletes who had to keep up appearances despite the wet conditions:

Aly Raisman didn't let the weather dampen her Olympic spirit:

The presence of Tonga flag-bearer Pita Taufatofua helped lighten the mood:

As is the custom with the closing ceremony, the Olympic host conducted the official handover to delegates representing the next host. Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes ceremonially passed the Olympic torch to Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike.

That led to a video package inspired by Super Mario Bros., which included Mario building a warp pipe in Tokyo and drilling through the Earth until he reached Rio. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe then appeared, elevating out of a warp pipe in the middle of the Maracana, per NBC Olympics:

For The Win's Nate Scott was struggling to wrap his head around it all:

"

The Japanese Prime Minister just came out of the floor wearing a Super Mario Bros. costume and I swear I'm not lying. #ClosingCeremony

— Nate Scott (@aNateScott) August 22, 2016"

If the handover was any indication of what fans can expect in Tokyo, the 2020 Olympics won't be short on entertainment.