Musical evening with Bhangra and power-packed performance from ‘Apache Indian' marked the closing ceremony of Commonwealth Games

Commonwealth Games. More than 4,500 athletes competed from 72 countries over the past 11 days. India finished with 61 medals, five less than their tally four years ago at Gold Coast. As per the tradition, the flag of the Commonwealth Games Federation, was lowered to officially mark the end of the Birmingham Games and handed over to the state of Victoria, Australia, the host of the next edition of the Commonwealth Games in 2026. Prince Edward "proclaimed Birmingham 2022 closed" and made a formal invitation to the Australian state of Victoria for the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

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Led by the iconic PV Sindhu, Indian shuttlers owned the badminton arena by winning all three titles on offer on the day while paddler Sharath Kamal yet again reminded everyone of his class and awe-inspiring longevity with a coruscating show, as the country wrapped up its CWG campaign with 61 medals

"You have inspired us and hopefully the future generations. You have demonstrated what unites us. On behalf of the Majesty of the Queen, our patron, and in the name of the Commonwealth Games Federation, I proclaim Birmingham 2022 closed," he said, as fireworks lit up the Birmingham sky. ‘Apache Indian', Bhangra set up the tempoIndian-origin Steven Kapur, a singer-songwriter and a reggae DJ, popularly known as 'Apache Indian' delivered a power-packed performance, belting out chartbusters 'Boom Shack-A-Lak', ‘Pass the Dutchie' and ‘Red Red Wine' to celebrate sound system culture of the city. It was followed by model-cum-activist Neelam Gill, who was driven in a yellow MG, while Punjabi MC played out ‘Mundiyan To Bach Ke' to a packed stadium,