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Bach Has No Regrets About Olympics Coming To Rio; Games End Without Major Incident
The Rio Games officially closed last night with a "festive Brazilian farewell to a zany 17 days of brilliant athletic performances served with a sideshow of mishaps and scares," according to Partlow & Phillips of the WASHINGTON POST. With dancers "dressed as colorful birds, fiddlers and fireworks, Rio drummed and stomped its way to a happy, sopping, final note before passing the baton to Tokyo" ( <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/olympics-ends-in-relief-as-brazilians-showed-they-wouldnt-give-up/2016/08/21/08bea644-6501-11e6-b4d8-33e931b5a26d_story.html" target="_blank">WASHINGTON POST, 8/22</a> ). ROCOG President Carlos Nuzman said, "We always said that Rio was ready, and we can now declare it. We did it: we delivered spectacular Games. We did it. We made it" ( <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/21/sport/rio-olympics-closing-ceremony-tokyo/index.html" target="_blank">CNN.com, 8/22</a> ). IOC President Thomas Bach last night said, "These were marvelous Olympic Games in the 'marvelous city'" ( <a href="http://www.espn.com/espn/print?id=17362813" target="_blank">AP, 8/22</a> ). Bach on Saturday said that he "had no regrets about bringing the Olympics to Rio," despite problems that "included several armed robberies and assaults and the smashing of windows on a media bus." Yesterday, he "again emphasized the importance of diversity to the Olympic movement" ( <a href="http://www.startribune.com/rain-pours-down-on-closing-ceremony-of-a-games-in-the-middle-of-reality/390871431/" target="_blank">Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 8/22</a> ).
