birmingham from the beats of bhangra to the powerpacked performance of apache indian it was a carnivalesque atmosphere at the refurbished alexander stadium here as a dazzling closing ceremony brought the curtains down on the highoctane edition of the 2022 commonwealth gamesmore than 4500 athletes competed from 72 countries over the past 11 daysindia finished with 61 medals five less than their tally four years ago at gold coastread alsocwg 2022 shuttlers paddlers dazzle on last day hockey team fizzles out india finish 4th with 22 gold medalsled 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 aweinspiring longevity with a coruscating show as the country wrapped up its cwg campaign with 61 medalsas 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 2026prince edward proclaimed birmingham 2022 closed and made a formal invitation to the australian state of victoria for the 2026 commonwealth gamesyou 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 skyapache indian bhangra set up the tempoindianorigin steven kapur a singersongwriter and a reggae dj popularly known as apache indian delivered a powerpacked performance belting out chartbusters boom shackalak pass the dutchie and red red wine to celebrate sound system culture of the cityit was followed by modelcumactivist neelam gill who was driven in a yellow mg while punjabi mc played out mundiyan to bach ke to a packed stadium celebrating birmingham daytimers culture the 80s and 90s cultural phenomenonthere were 20 musical performances which included musical legends goldie and beverley knight collaborating on the iconic inner city life in a tribute to wolverhamptons pioneering role in rave culture and 80s street arttransgender british model talulah eve paid homage to the new romantic era and birmingham queer culture while current birmingham superstars raza hussain mahalia jaykae and ash gave a performance looking to the futurethe musical show was followed by farewell speeches by president of the commonwealth games federation dame louise martin and birmingham 2022 ceo martin green among othersthe closing ceremony was a true celebration of an outstanding commonwealth games and showcased the very best of birmingham the country and the commonwealth martin saidwe have witnessed an incredible showcase of commonwealth sport across 11 fantastic days and the closing ceremony provided a wonderful conclusion to the special competition martin addedtt icon sharath kamal and boxing star nikhat zareen were indias flagbearers for the closing ceremony pti photolowkey presence of indian athletesstar female boxer nikhat zareen and veteran table tennis player