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How and when to watch the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics in Australia

The closing ceremony will be held at Tokyo Stadium. (AP: Shuji Kajiyama)

The Tokyo Olympics are coming to an end after 17 days of events that saw records smashed and champions forged in a bid for golden glory. 

With the coronavirus pandemic still raging across Japan and the rest of the world, this year's closing ceremony will look a bit different.

Here's what you need to know about how and when to watch. 

When is the closing ceremony?

The Tokyo Olympics closing ceremony is due to be held at 9:00pm AEST on Sunday, August 8, and run for about three hours.

Like the opening ceremony, there will be no fans at Tokyo's Olympic Stadium for the closing ceremony.

The closing ceremony will be broadcast in Australia on free-to-air TV on Channel Seven and on streaming platform 7Plus.

The ABC will be live blogging the closing ceremony.

The concept of the closing ceremony is "World We Share", which the Tokyo Olympic organisers say "expresses the idea that each of us inhabits their own world".

Tokyo will still put on a show but there will be no fans in the stadium. (AP: Petr David Josek)

Where are Emma McKeon and the rest of the Aussies?

Traditionally, the closing ceremony is a giant party for the athletes but don't expect a normal celebration this year — or many Australians.

The Australian Olympic Committee aimed to have all athletes out of Tokyo within 24 to 48 hours of their last event.

Emma McKeon, who was a hot favourite for flag bearer, flew back to Australia last week with most of the swimmers.

All athletes returning to Australia must complete two weeks of hotel quarantine.

Cate Campbell and Patty Mills were Australia's flag bearers at the opening ceremony. (Ezra Shaw/Getty)

When are the next Olympics?

The next Olympic Games will be held in Paris in 2024 from July 26 to August 11.

At the Tokyo closing ceremony, the French flag will be raised next to the flags of Greece and Japan as the Games are officially handed over to the new host.

Viewers will also get a glimpse of what to expect at Paris as they contribute to the show.

When Tokyo took over the reins from Rio in 2016, spectators were treated to a display that included Hello Kitty, Pac-Man and anime characters alongside athletes.

Then-prime minister Shinzo Abe got a "1UP" and transformed into the popular Nintendo video game character Mario so he could travel to Rio in a Warp Pipe and make the Games on time.

Shinzo Abe as Super Mario at Rio in 2016. (Reuters: Stoyan Nenov)

When are the Tokyo Paralympics?

If you can't wait three years for your Olympic sports fix, don't stress.

The Tokyo Paralympics start on Tuesday, August 24 with the opening ceremony and will run until Sunday, September 5.

There will be 539 events across 22 sports including the new additions of badminton and taekwondo. 

The Tokyo Paralympics mascot is Someity (pronounced soh-may-i-tee).

A Pokémon-like, anime-styled avatar can use the cherry blossom tactile sensors on the sides of its head for telepathic powers and fly with its cape.

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