Rio 2016: Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appears at closing ceremony as Mario

Updated

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a surprise appearance in the 2016 Rio Olympics closing ceremony — not as himself, but the famous Nintendo gaming character Mario.

In the handover to Tokyo for the 2020 Games, a video featuring all things Japan — including sumo wrestling, bullet trains, PAC-MAN, Doraemon and Hello Kitty — played at the ceremony.

The animation ended with Mario teleporting from the Shibuya crossing in Tokyo to the closing ceremony in Rio.

Then, from a massive green pipe in the Macarena stadium out popped someone dressed as Mario.

After ripping off the iconic overalls and hat, Mr Abe was revealed.

"The Japanese Government will work hard so it will be the best Olympics ever," Mr Abe said.

As expected, the reaction to his entrance was very enthusiastic.

"You know the next olympic [sic] are going to be on point when the country's prime minister dresses up like Mario," one Twitter user said.

"I ALREADY SAID I AM GOING TO THE TOKYO GAMES, GEEZ. Talk about overkill," another user said.

Topics: olympics-summer, games, brazil, japan

First posted