Olympics closing ceremony: Tokyo 2021 show details – and who are commentators Hazel Irvine and Andrew Cotter?

It’s been two long weeks of riveting sporting action, but now the curtain must come down on another stellar Olympic games.

Despite the setbacks – most notably a year-long delay – the Games have delivered an exciting spectacle of athletic prowess that’s seen Team GB perform beyond expectation, and thrown up new sports to the mainstream.

The whole shebang kicked off with the spectacular opening ceremony, so it’s only fitting it all comes to a close with a closing ceremony.

While closing ceremonies are traditionally less bombastic than their opening counterparts, they’re still an integral part of the Games as the host city hands over the reigns to the next country to hold the Olympics, while simultaneously looking ahead to the Paralympics.

Here is everything you need to know about this year’s ceremony.

When is the closing ceremony?

The closing ceremony for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 will be held on Sunday 8 August at 8pm Tokyo time, which is 12pm UK time.

What will happen at the closing ceremony?

The concept for the ceremony is “Worlds We Share”, and the Olympic website explains that the concept “expresses the idea that each of us inhabits their own world”.

The site states: “The Games have and will provide us with food for thought about diversity and inclusion as we continue on to the Paralympic Games.

“Even if we cannot be together, we can share the same moment, and that is something that we will never forget. It is this salient message which we believe will create a Closing Ceremony that will open the door to a brighter future.

“We hope that this ceremony may be a moment for each and every one of us to think about what the future holds.”

As is tradition, the closing ceremony will feature the handover of the Olympic flag.

Yuriko Koike, the Governor of Tokyo, will pass the flag to IOC President Thomas Bach, who in turn will hand it to Anne Hidalgo, the Mayor of Paris, where the next Olympic games are set to be held in 2024.

The passing of the flag to the French Mayor will be followed by the raising of the French flag, and the playing of the French anthem.

Much like the opening ceremony, the closing ceremony will have a distinct lack of fanfare due to Covid-19 restrictions mandating that no fans be allowed in the stadium.

Who are the closing ceremony commentators?

Lending their voices and expert analysis to the closing ceremony will be Hazel Irvine and Andrew Cotter on the BBC.

Irvine is a Scottish sports presenter who began her career in radio before moving over to TV. She joined the BBC in 1990 as a presenter on BBC Scotland’s Sportscene.

Over the course of her career, Irvine has presented for the BBC at every summer Olympics since 1992, as well as five winter Olympics, and four FIFA World Cup tournaments.

She will be joined bya fellow Scot in Andrew Cotter, who is usually seen and heard covering golf and rugby union, but has also supplied his voice to coverage of tennis, athletics and The Boat Race.

Cotter started his broadcasting career at Edinburgh-based commercial radio station Scot FM, before moving to London in 2000 to work at both BBC Radio 5 Live and Sky News.

His television career really picked up in 2003 when he began commentating on golf and rugby for BBC Sport; since then he has attended four Olympics, as part of the athletics team and also as commentator on the opening and closing ceremonies.

How can I watch the closing ceremony?

You’ll be able to watch the closing ceremony live on BBC One.

On the last day of the games, the BBC will be offering live coverage of the Olympics, with the closing ceremony being aired from 11:55am to 3pm UK time.

Ahead of that, two weeks of Olympic action wraps up with a review of the Games at 11am, hosted by Alex Scott and Clare Balding.

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