Athletes were already seated in the stadium prior to the start of the ceremony. The opening segments featured deaf drummers guided by a "visual metronome" lead by the singer Gaby Amarantos, a performance by Andreas Kisser set to a sequence featuring acrobats in wheelchairs, and a performance by Jonathan Bastos—who was born armless and plays guitar with his feet. Following the playing of the national anthem by Saulo Laucas, a singer who was born blind and was diagnosed with a mild form of autism as a child, flagbearers representing the countries that participated in these Paralympics entered the stadium. The cultural program of the closing ceremony was structured as a concert, being headlined by Brazilian pop divas Ivete Sangalo and Gaby Amarantos, joined by Vanessa da Mata, Céu, Saulo Fernandes, Sepultura guitarist Andreas Kisser, Armandinho, Johnathan Bastos, the groups Nação Zumbi and, the pop singerNego do Borel, and British singer Calum Scott. During their performance, Nação Zumbi's guitarist was seen with a sign reading "Fora Temer", referencing President of BrazilMichel Temer. Following the official handover ceremony, a cultural presentation was held to showcase Tokyo, host city of the 2020 Summer Paralympics. A video segment highlighted Tokyo's past hosting of the second canonical Paralympics in 1964, which were the first to use the term "Paralympic". The presentation, entitled "Positive Switch", starred Gimico—a Japanese top model with a prosthetic leg, along with Koichi Omae, and visually-impaired performer Akira Hiyama—who " his view of Tokyo from his imagination". During Philip Craven's closing speech, a moment of silence was held for Iranian cyclist Bahman Golbarnezhad, who had died the previous day in an accident during a road cycling event. He stated that his death had "affected us all and left the whole Paralympic Movement united in grief." Craven went on to praise Brazil's reception to the Games and the overall performances of athletes, stating that people "were in awe at what you could do and forgot about what they believed you could not. You showed to the world that with a positive attitudethe human body, and above all the human heart and mind, knows no limits and absolutely anything is possible." Craven also announced that he would bestow the Paralympic Order—the IPC's highest honour, on the people of Brazil and Rio de Janeiro for their "outstanding support" of the Paralympics.
