What happens to Rio de Janeiro now that the 2016 Olympics have finished remains to be seen, but there was no denying the quality and drama of the past three weeks of competition.
Rio brought the curtain down on South America's first-ever Olympics at an upbeat closing ceremony at Maracana Stadium on Sunday, ending a Summer Games headlined by sprinter Usain Bolt and swimmer Michael Phelps but enriched by so many more athletes from further down the food chain.
Bolt lived up to his billing as the Rio Games' saviour, completing his "triple triple" of three gold medals at three successive games and endearing himself to the world with his infectious personality and willingness to engage with the public.