Closing ceremony of Special Olympics to take place tonight

The final stage of the Special Olympics World Summer Games gets underway in Dublin later today.

The closing ceremony will take place in Croke Park later this evening where a crowd of 65,000 is expected to witness the taking down of the Special Olympics Flag and the extinguishing of the Olympic Flame.

The Games, which were attended by seven thousand athletes from over 160 countries, have been hailed as a massive success.

Organisers have been commended for their handling of the event and the enthusiasm shown by the 30,000 volunteers, the host towns and spectators has been praised.