this is bbc news. the headlines at 6pm. after more than two weeks of thrilling sporting action — the tokyo olympic games end with a spectacular closing ceremony. more gold medals for team gb — lauren price wins the women's middleweight final — and cyclistjason kenny, becomes the country's most decorated olympian. another provincial capital in afghanistan falls to the taliban as they continue to make ferocious assaults against key northern cities. thousands flee their homes in greece as forest fires burn out of control. the country faces its most intense heatwave in more than 30 years.

the tokyo olympics have ended, with a closing ceremony in the national stadium devoid of fans. moments after the flame was extinguished in the olympic stadium a volley of multi—coloured fireworks lit up the night sky about the olympic stadium where athletes were already heading for the exits. the president of the international olympic committee, thomas bach, thanked the people of japan and described the 16—day event as unprecedented — because of the pandemic. the olympic flag was handed over to the mayor of paris where the games will be held in three years time. team gb have matched their medal total from london 2012 with 22 golds, and 65 medals in total. jason kenny won a gold medal in the men's kieren cycling event in the veladrome. that makes him britain's most

successful male athlete with a total of seven olympic gold medals under his belt — and a total of nine olympic medals in all. in the boxing ring, there was gold for lauren price in the women's boxing middle weight final. she beat china's li qian in a five to nil points victory. in a moment we'lljoin viewers on bbc one for the teatime news. but first lucy hockings is in tokyo for us and a little earlier i asked what her impressions had been of the games over the past few weeks. actually, a real roller—coaster. arriving here in tokyo at the beginning of the games none of us knew what to expect. so many restrictions on the media and on the athletes as well, cooped up in their rooms at times, having to do daily testing, difficulties in training for some of them as well. i mean, there's constant concern about the pandemic and then we saw these rising covid numbers every day that we were reporting on. at one point in time the balloon to around 5000 cases a day and it felt at times that that might overshadow these games but, martin, the stories of inspiration

came thick and fast. every day it felt like there was a story that would bring people to tears and then the sport really worked its magic and for the host nation, japan, they'd had this incredible record haul, 27 goals, far better than they were expecting in many respects. they've got a brother and sister who both won medals in thejudo, young dynamic skateboarders who were only 12 and i9 when they stood on that podium. they won the baseball the other night which is an absolute passion for many japanese so on the sporting field there was all the success you started to feel the tide, sort of, turning here and the change as people started really enjoying the sporting action so like many japanese i have also felt a bit conflicted that yes, this is been happening amdist a pandemic with a huge amount of concern about the health care system and whether it would hold up adult of these incredible moments that we've seen in the health care system and whether it would hold up

adult of these incredible moments that we've seen this was a arena. the atmosphere inside either sporting stadiums is artificial, was nothing like any one had ever competed with before? absolutely, and some athletes relished it and used it as a way of focusing. other athletes, i think, really miss having family and friends. particularly, in fact, simon biles spoke about that when she talked about her mental health, how tough it was do not have a family there with her but done right, of course, all the athletes came up to support each other and if we take simone biles he was there every day sporting her team—mates even though she wasn't actually competing we saw that time and time again. they were trying to fill out the stands, they have their flags, they were cheering on their team—mates at all of these events but, yes, it was poignant, i think is the word to use, and i don't know how much of the closing ceremony you saw but i felt that very much tonight, that there were these athletes

parading round to an empty stadium and some of the smaller countries have already sent all their athletes home because, remember, after you've completed you've got 48 hours before you have to return. they have to do have volunteers carrying their country's flags which felt a little bit sad as well and then they recreated inside the olympic stadium tonight scenes of tokyo, we saw a park scene, bmx's, a dj and what they were trying to do was give the athletes a sense of what this incredibly vibrant creative, amazing city is all about because they haven't been able to see it. they've only been in the olympic village about their venues and they wanted to give them a little taste of it at the closing ceremony so moments like that, for me, actually felt a little bit poignant.

the olympic games in tokyo have drawn to a close, with yet more golds for team gb. and we are watching british olympic history as jason kenny takes the title! it's his seventh gold medal in four olympic games, making jason kenny britain's most decorated athlete.

it was like i was standing still around that last corner. i was hacking away. but ijust kept telling myself, "it's a medal, it's a medal — "even if one comes, it's still a medal." and then when i crossed the line i was like, "it's the bloody gold medal!" and lauren price took the final day's other team gb gold in middleweight boxing. the closing ceremony was spectacular, but played out to an empty stadium due to covid. so how will the tokyo games be remembered? we'll assess its possible legacy. also on the programme... it's a fifth day of wildfires burning out of control in greece, in what the prime minister calls a "nightmarish summer." and from today, if you're returning to britain from france, no need to quarantine if you're double—jabbed.

good evening. the olympic flag in tokyo has been lowered, officially bringing to an end the 2020 games. the closing ceremony, like many of the sporting events, was held in an empty stadium with no fans due to covid restrictions. team gb had a good games, matching their medals tally of london 2012 — 65 in all, including 22 golds. the final day saw jason kenny secure a surprise victory in the velodrome, making him britain's most decorated olympian, and the middleweight boxer lauren price also won gold. natalie pirks has our first report this evening from tokyo. jason kenny is britain's most successful olympian of all time. and how. the man with the most medals and the most golds did it with the most accomplished performance of his career. what a line—up for this olympic final... he'd certainly saved the best till last. performances in qualifying had been

less than explosive. but wait — something extraordinary was about to happen. jason kenny makes a move early here... sensing an opportunity, kenny put the hammer down and left his rivals eating dust. and we are watching british olympic history as jason kenny takes the title! his team—mates enjoyed that one. the most understated of champions had delivered gold across four olympic games. a triumph of endurance. it's funny, when you look back on the ones you've already got, it seems really easy. and then when you try to get more, you remember how hard it was. ijust kept telling myself, "it's a medal, it's a medal — even if one comes, it's still a medal." and then when i crossed the line i was like, "it's the bloody gold medal!" but it's notjustjason kenny making waves here. there have been some spectacular olympic debuts, some remarkable personal achievements and many records broken. but this is it — the final medal of the tokyo games for team gb. but what colour will it be for lauren price?

well, there is lauren price making herfamiliar march towards the boxing ring. the life of this champion from the valleys is a script straight from hollywood. raised by her grandparents, 52 football caps for wales and multiple kickboxing world titles. along the way she worked night shifts as a taxi driver to support her boxing training. today, li qian of china — the rio bronze medallist — was the passenger in this fight. there's confirmation. lauren price! and in her moment of glory, a glance to the heavens for her late grandfather. it's a dream come true. yeah, i still can't believe it. i've got to pinch myself. but itjust goes to show — years of hard work, if you dream and you work hard enough you can achieve anything. this was british boxing's most successful olympics since 1920. but as the sun set on the tokyo games, one man's audacious victory left him head and shoulders above the rest.

natalie pirks, bbc news, tokyo. tokyo handed its olympic flag to the mayor of paris, setting the stage for the next games in 202a. during the closing ceremony the organisers declared it had given hope and unity to the world in the midst of the pandemic. so how will the tokyo games be remembered? here's our sports editor, dan roan. the end of a games like no other. as with the rest of tokyo's olympics, its closing ceremony was behind closed doors. the athletes with the stadium largely to themselves. laura kenny, britain's greatest female olympian, with the honour of carrying the flag. but rather than sadness at what was missing, a sense of pride at the spirit that had prevailed. for the first time since the pandemic began, the entire world came together. billions of people around the globe were united by emotion. this gives us faith in the future. the olympic games, tokyo 2020,

are the olympic games of hope, solidarity and peace. from world records... smashed the old world record! ..and new sports... that was incredible! ..to shocks... italy take the gold! ..and great sportsmanship... oh, they've given it to them both! ..tokyo 2020 will be seen by many as a classic, despite unprecedented challenges faced by both organisers and athletes. i think it's just been the most challenging games, but at the same time the most giving. because if you've got here and you've achieved what you wanted after everything that we have been through, itjust makes these medals just that bit more special. brtiain�*s 65 medals equals their haul as hosts at london 2012. this, their second most successful overseas games after rio. rowing, a traditional strength, disappointed. but in other sports, team gb excelled. including the new mixed events.

glory shared by both familiar faces and new stars. 0h! yes! i think it's up there with one of the great achievements of recent games. 70% of the squad here today are expected to medal in paris, not in tokyo. they had the coronavirus to deal with, a lack of proper competitive build—up that builds that experience into the team. so to have performed as they have done is a remarkable testimony to all those athletes. athlete welfare was a recurring theme, raised not only by superstar simone biles but also the extreme heat competitors faced. the case of belarus sprinter krystina timanovskaya after she refused her team's orders to fly home was another controversy the games will be remembered for. the sense here in tokyo is that these athletes ultimately came to the rescue of these games. thejudgment and the motives behind pressing on with these olympics will always be debated. but for many, the fact

that we are here at the closing ceremony after so many magic moments represents a triumph of sports resilience and defiance. like so much here, tonight's ceremony still managed to impress. surely the next host, paris, won't face such challenges. defined and delayed by the pandemic, the olympics were finally over. but the moments they provided will live on. dan roan, bbc news, tokyo. as we've heard, the games were held in some of the most difficult circumstances. let's talk to our tokyo correspondent, rupert wingfield—hayes. how do you assess these games and how will they how do you assess these games and how will they be how do you assess these games and how will they be remembered beyond the sport? it how will they be remembered beyond the sort? . , how will they be remembered beyond the sort? .,, , how will they be remembered beyond the sort? , , how will they be remembered beyond thesort? , , , ., the sport? it has been very strange, as was suggested — the sport? it has been very strange, as was suggested in _ the sport? it has been very strange, as was suggested in that _ the sport? it has been very strange, as was suggested in that report. - the sport? it has been very strange, as was suggested in that report. we j as was suggested in that report. we have had the tale of two cities. inside the olympic bubble, where we have seen this tremendous sporting

achievement, team gb has done very well and japan has done extremely well and japan has done extremely well as well, coming third in the medals table, and the worries about covid did not emerge, there was no super spreader event because of mass daily testing and high vaccine rates amongst athletes, the kit it under control. if you look outside, in the other tokyo, control. if you look outside, in the othertokyo, most control. if you look outside, in the other tokyo, most of the time over the last two weeks, if you did not know, you would not really have felt this city was hosting an olympics. even hard—core sports fans i have talked to said it felt like it was in another country, even another continent. if you look at the covid situation outside, it is very different, there has not been enough testing or vaccines and because of that, in the last two weeks we have seen covid rate infections tripling since the beginning of the olympics and we have a situation as olympics leaves town with japan facing its first situation —— worst situation since the pandemic began.

first situation -- worst situation since the pandemic began. thank you ve much since the pandemic began. thank you very much for— since the pandemic began. thank you very much for that. _ since the pandemic began. thank you very much for that. rupert _ very much for that. rupert wingfield—hayes, live in tokyo. hundreds more people have been forced to leave their homes in parts of greece as wildfires continue to blaze out of control. the country's most intense heatwave in 30 years has made woodland tinder dry, creating perfect conditions for the fires to burn. the region north of athens and evia, greece's second—largest island, are among the worst—affected areas. ferries are helping evacuate residents and holidaymakers. our europe correspondent, bethany bell, has sent us this report from evia. exodus from evia. fleming forests on the island of evia. firefighters struggling to stop the fires in the north of the island. and it has caused an exodus. there are long queues at the port. people are waiting to get on ferries to the mainland. holiday—makers and some locals are leaving after villagers in parts of the north of the island were evacuated.

chris, who works on evia as a singer, says the wildfires are spreading and the authorities aren't doing enough. most people see that we don't have any help until yesterday. and they could save everybody. and it wasn't true. the people don't know where to go. the big problem is that we feel that they let us burn. this is what they're fleeing from. wildfires have been blazing out of control for almost a week now. houses and forests have been destroyed. this village is being evacuated. as thick, orange smoke fills the air, people wait nervously for the ferry to depart. it's like a scene from an apocalyptic movie, definitely. because there is no sky, the sun is red. it's quite scary. it's time to leave. the fires are getting closer

and closer to this village. just a few miles from here there are bright blue skies, but here the air is full of smoke and ash. and it's making it harder for people to breathe. no one knows if this village will be spared. it's now up to the gods of the winds and the weather. bethany bell, bbc news, evia. the world is getting "dangerously close" to running out of time to avert catastrophic climate change. that's the warning from alok sharma, the minister in charge of november's climate change conference in glasgow. let's get more on this from our political correspondent, damian grammaticas. is this a kind of rhetoric that is designed to focus people's minds as we lead into glasgow?— we lead into glasgow? absolutely, those fires in _ we lead into glasgow? absolutely, those fires in the _ we lead into glasgow? absolutely, those fires in the recent _ we lead into glasgow? absolutely, those fires in the recent floods - we lead into glasgow? absolutely, those fires in the recent floods in i those fires in the recent floods in germany, alok sharma says he thinks you are seeing the impacts of climate change and extreme weather

events and we cannot afford to wait to deal with this. he says this because tomorrow we will see the you went release a new report with the latest global science, how serious it is, and in a few weeks alok sharma will host all of the worlds countries in glasgow with how to do with this and some really serious questions. will he be able to get the big emitters like china to make enough changes, will he get enough money from the rich countries? questions for the uk government's own policy, it is looking at oil and coal projects. what sort of leadership does not show? how will it get help pay for the transition for hard up households to change their heating, the cars that they drive? while we have been in lockdown, alok sharma has been jetting to 30 plus countries, defending that, saying those trips have been vital if he is to get success. ., ~' have been vital if he is to get success. ., ~ , ., ., have been vital if he is to get success. ., ~ ., ., ., the taliban is continuing it's advance across afghanistan, capturing two northern cities —

one of them the strategic town of kunduz. but the government says fighting is still continuing. airstrikes by american long—range bombers are said to have killed dozens of militants in recent days. here, the latest government coronavirus figures show there were more than 27,000 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period, which means on average there were 27,288 new cases per day in the last week. 39 deaths were recorded in the last 2a hours — that's an average of 86 a day in the last seven days. nearly 89% of adults in the uk have now had theirfirstjab, and 74.5% are now fully vaccinated. the latest changes to the uk's covid travel restrictions have come into force. mexico is now on the "red" list, with arrivals to britain having to stay in a government—approved hotel for 10 days' isolation at their own expense. seven countries, including germany, have been added to the "green" list. and there are no restrictions

of travellers who've been double jabbed and arriving from france. our business correspondent, katy austin, has all the details. just off the eurostar from paris to london. and for passengers who've had both jabs, there's now no need to isolate. we were expecting to quarantine, so with having the kids it's a very nice surprise that we don't have to. the first time they've seen their grandparents in france for the last 18 months. we were able to come back today and not have to quarantine. that's pretty great, yeah. yeah, it makes a huge difference. it definitely enables us - to travel a bit more, yeah. desperate for any boost after the crippling effect of more than a year of restrictions, travel and tourism businesses are hoping for a flurry of last—minute holiday bookings. brittany ferries has seen a surge in reservations, but still only hopes to carry half a million passengers this year — less than a quarter of pre—pandemic levels. season 21 will be worse than the season in 20 for brittany ferries. so i guess more than welcome,

this announcement. it's good news. but it comes in a year where, at the end of the day, for us, everything is about 22 and making 22 a really normal year. the changes coming in today are subject to a review in three weeks. the transport secretary has argued this provides some certainty for passengers. there are concerns, though, in the travel industry that covid testing requirements are still putting people off, and some businesses think it's too late to save their summer. katy austin, bbc news. that's it. i'll be back with the late news at 10pm. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. back now to the olympics, and in becoming britain's most decorated olympian — jason kenny has surpassed his friend

sir chris hoy's medal haul. chris hoy — who has been working as a bbc pundit during the games has been speaking to nesta mcgregor about jason kenny's achievement. yeah, well it seems like a lifetime ago, but, yeah, sitting up at two o'clock til five o'clock watching the track session. and i think everybody, including myself, we expected laura kenny to be the banker for the gold medal and jason had an outside chance — and it was the complete opposite. laura and a bit of a nightmare in the first race of the omnium with a crash that wasn't her fault, and then a small mistake in the elimination race and she was out of the running for the points race at the end. so, she was disappointed about that. we were expecting more, she was expecting more, but i think it was made by the truly spectacular performance from jason kenny. absolutely incredible. i've never seen a keirin final like it at any level before, you know, particularly at world level. for somebody like jason to be able to just launch off the front of the bunch and have no reaction from the rest of the guys,

we were standing open—mouthed watching the reaction, and he just destroyed them and became britain's most successful olympian ever in the process. people, and i've heard all the commentary, have put that down to experience. so he says, there could have been plenty of guys behind him that were younger, possibly even, you know, fresher, stronger, but he had the nous to, kind of, do thatjust caught them off guard. do you think that literally was it? well, keirin isn'tjust about pure speed, it's about your tactics and your race instinct, your race craft, and jason drew number one, so that means he had to hide behind the pace bike — not the position he would have chosen if he had the option, but he was there. and you have to accelerate away from the bike. he did that, had a look, had a second look and the gap was still there and he thought, "let's roll the dice." let's give it a go, let's have a crack. and, you know, once you commit, you have to go 100%. there's no half—hearted or have a little bit of a go and wait and see, it was just don't look back, go for it, and he's been training for the team sprint, which is three laps from a standing

start, so he's got that endurance. it was the perfect opportunity and, you know, he opened up a gap that looked like it was about 70 metres at one point. it was incredible! the camera was struggling to get the whole field in the one shot, it was that big. and you just mentioned him doing so, the first ever british olympian, seven gold medals. do you remember who he surpassed? i dunno, some other cyclist guy, was it? i'm not sure. but, no, honestly, he's... i'm sure that you have no quarrels about him surpassing that mark. we spoke the other day, but how highly does jason rank amongst british athletes? well he's, you know, his record stands. it speaks for itself. you know, he's the most successful athlete we've ever seen. he's the most successful cyclist in olympic history, notjust british, and he's been successful time and time again. he's not been a one—hit wonder. four games, from the moment we saw him come in the team in beijing in 2008 as this fresh—faced youngster, he's grown, he's matured, he's gained speed, power, strength, but, most importantly,

he's learnt how to deal with pressure, and you never count him out. you never count him off. you know, it's one of these moments that...almost the more pressure there is the better he performs. and, yeah, just, i was so proud to see him perform. you know that your own records are going to get broken at some stage. you know it's going to happen — they don't last forever, so i'm just so pleased that it's a friend, it's a mate that is the person who's taken it away from me. lots taken it away from me. of people perhaps were say he's lots of people perhaps were saying he's up to the care and final, it was disappointed because they expected to win gold. does a performance like that hey, make it correct that personally and also make something paris is three years. what usual force, what are you think he goes next? it’s what usual force, what are you think he goes next?— he goes next? it's not as if he's been dominating _ he goes next? it's not as if he's been dominating the _ he goes next? it's not as if he's been dominating the world - he goes next? it's not as if he's i been dominating the world scene he goes next? it's not as if he's - been dominating the world scene for the last five years. not one individual will metal at world level since 2016. so yeah, he wasn't the

favourite coming to this, it's not like we thought come on, give us three gold medals. it was always going to be a big as to get any gold medal the teams right was the main focus they did incredibly well the silver against the huge favourites from the netherlands. from day one i was saying the karen is his best chance because of the fact that there are more variables in there, there are more variables in there, the karen is about race craft so that no one knows it better than jason. and he proved it. it'sjust so fitting, it's just the sensational remarkable victory that will stick in everybody�*s minds that marked his seventh gold medal and raised above me and bradley and redgrave at his wife and everybody else to finally get a bit more recognition. because he does kind of fly under the radar a little bit, of his own choice. but i think he definitely deserves more credit and i'm sure he will get a lot more credit off the back of this performance.— credit off the back of this erformance. ., . . ., , ., performance. how much credit do you take? because _ performance. how much credit do you take? because we _

performance. how much credit do you take? because we just _ performance. how much credit do you take? because we just left _ performance. how much credit do you take? because we just left the - take? because we just left the village and i was speaking to the junior academy cyclist who is saying that they saw it coming nowjust seems to be a conveyor belt of talent. when british cycling and just hop optimistic are you? the key thin is to just hop optimistic are you? the key thing is to capitalise _ just hop optimistic are you? the key thing is to capitalise on _ just hop optimistic are you? the key thing is to capitalise on the - thing is to capitalise on the inspiration. it's no use to have a great performing athlete and just keep them celebrating and that's fantastic. you've got to use that, you get a strike while the iron is hot. there are so many things that can attract younger people, new opportunities, so many things to do. if you have someone that young and interested in the sport you've got to get hold of them right now, bring the men, get them on the track, get them on bikes, show him how much fun it is. make them realise that if you have the desire to do this, you can do it. and give them the opportunity for separate recycle is great to do that now. the reason why we cannot continue the successes we've got the ball rolling, we got the athletes inspiring the next generation, we have the facility, and we have the funding. that's the magic formula.

it isn't easy and is jason said in his interview, it gets harder and harder the older you get in the further in the career you get. the easier it is to look back and say oh it was a lot easier back then, it's now. . , ., ., ., , now. final question, on to test your owers now. final question, on to test your powers of articulation. _ now. final question, on to test your powers of articulation. what - now. final question, on to test your powers of articulation. what would l powers of articulation. what would jason kenny have felt like after that spread?— that spread? physically? yeah. physically. _ that spread? physically? yeah. physically. his _ that spread? physically? yeah. physically, his bike _ that spread? physically? yeah. physically, his bike to - that spread? physically? yeah. physically, his bike to the - that spread? physically? yeah. | physically, his bike to the limit. you think i can do that in three laps? is a sprinter you're able to produce these huge amounts of power which through your veins. your muscles start to seize up and he said in the last corner he felt like he was chopping wood, he was getting all ragged and the technique was starting to go because he was fatiguing. but he put so much effort into that first lap and a half, his logs do not lungs would been burning but it doesn't matter because you've won the olympic gold.

there is news of something drier on the horizon. through tonight to be more the way of outbreaks arrayed across southernmost counties of england and wales with some showers again today in scotland and northern ireland, know that england will continue. around the far north of england clear skies with the side of the series where was he the best of the series where was he the best of the sunshine northeast scotland through parts of wales, central and northern england to begin with. some will stay dry and his eerie through tomorrow but the northern half of the country sees more showers and thunderstorms develop a lower central eastern scotland after some early rain across some southern counties of england and wales it's back to a blustery day with a mixture of sunny skies followed by those downpours. temperatures may be lifting a little bit on recent days was up tuesday a ridge of high pressure building, no fewer showers on the map. more will be there across parts of central and northern scotland, that's where the heavies will be. but through england and wales a lot more in the way of drier and brighter weather. temperatures slowly starting to pick up was a lot more in the way of drier and

brighter weather. temperatures slowly starting to pick up. that's