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Paralympic closing marks end of Tokyo's 8-year Olympic saga

Tokyo 2020 Paralympics Closing Ceremony
Posted at 8:45 AM, Sep 05, 2021
and last updated 2021-09-05 08:45:32-04

TOKYO — The Tokyo Paralympics have closed to end a saga that began eight years ago when the Japanese capital was named the host city by the International Olympic Committee.

The Paralympics ended a 13-day run in a circus-like ceremony at the National Stadium overseen by Japan's Crown Prince Akishino, the brother of Emperor Naruhito.

The Olympics closed almost a month ago.

These were unprecedented Olympics and Paralympics, postponed for a year and marked by footnotes, asterisks, and no fans, except for a few outlying venues away from Tokyo during the Olympics, and a few thousand school children who were allowed into Paralympic venues.