In contrast to the Opening Ceremony, many of the elements of the Closing Ceremony are governed by tradition than official mandate. Usually, flag bearers from each participating country enter the stadium in single file and behind them all the athletes without any distinction or grouping by nationality to symbolise bringing all the athletes of the world together as "one nation".

After the athletes enter the stadium, three national flags are hoisted on flagpoles one at a time, while the corresponding national anthems are played. The flag of Greece will be on the middle pole to honour the birthplace of the Olympic Games; the flag of the host country will be on the left-hand pole, and the flag of the country hosting the next Summer or Winter Olympic Games on the right.

Following the flag raising ceremony, the President of the Organising Committee will deliver a speech. The President of the IOC then formally closes the Olympics by saying:

I declare the Games of the [ordinal number] Olympiad/[ordinal number] Olympic Summer Games closed and, in accordance with tradition, I call upon the youth of the world to assemble four years from now in [name of host city] to celebrate the Games of the [subsequent ordinal number] Olympiad/[subsequent ordinal number] Olympic Summer Games.

The Olympic flame is then extinguished. Next, the Olympic flag that was hoisted during the Opening Ceremony is lowered from the flagpole and carried from the stadium as the Olympic anthem is played.

After these traditional practices, the next host nation will introduce itself with artistic displays of dance showcasing elements of that country.