Last night Liverpool hosted a gala dinner which signalled the end of the 10-day World Firefighter Games.
Merseyside fared particularly well in the Games, picking up a number of medals for a variety of events and the England team, which had the biggest team of any of the competing nations, overall secured over 400 medals. (A full set of results and a medal table is available online on the Echo website - www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
As well as the official goodbye, last night was the also the official handover to the event's next hosts -
South Korea.
Merseyside's chief fire officer symbolically handed over the flag of the World Firefighter Games to Cllr Ki-il Kwon, representing Daegu in South Korea, which is hosting the Games in 2010.
Athletes, dignitaries, volunteers and event organisers joined together for the event which was a fitting end to a spectacular Games and highlighted all that is great and good about Liverpool - the people, the architecture, the culture, the nightlife and, of course, the competitiveness.
A job well done.

I went to the Combat Finals at the Echo Arena last night and what a fantastic night it was.
It showcased the martial arts including judo and karate as well as boxing and wrestling.
The highlight for me was the arm wrestling title bout between Monster Mike Todd and The Swedish Scorpion Johan Lindholm - who knew that arm wrestling could be so exciting?
I was literally on the edge of my seat and nearly hoarse shouting for the 'Scorpion' who threatened to shockingly overturn the current world champ.
The finish was nailbiting as Todd just managed to hold on and retain the title. It was also nice to see two ladies taking part in the event - both accomplished and title-holders - but I suspect female arm wrestling isn't something that has ever seen the light of day on regular TV channels.
The event also produced some real winners.
Earlier on in the day Lauren McCormack, a firefighter from Allerton, beat off her competitor from Tyne and Wear to take gold in the 60kg women's boxing - a great achievement for Lauren who has been training for months.

After a great six days of sporting activity the World Firefighter Games is nearly at a close.
But what a fantastic last weekend it was.
I dropped in at Otterspool Promenade on Saturday to see the start of the Chiefs Challenge.
The London Fire Brigade parachute team did an aerial display to start the race and luckily the rain held off long enough for the runners - and riders - to make their way along the five mile course to the Echo Arena - and raise tens of thousands of pounds along the way.
The winner was Dave Robinson who managed to run the course in an impressive 25 minutes.
Also at the Arena on Saturday were the qualifying heats of the tug-of-war, the darts and the arm wrestling.
It was fantastic to see the support from the crowds for Merseyside's A and B tug-of-war teams.
The A-Team - under the coaching of Assistant chief fire officer Bill Evans eventually took Gold and the B Team took an impressive bronze. Congratulations to both teams - and their coaches - for a job well done.
On Sunday was the final of the Toughest Firefighter Alive.
Despite the driving rain people still came out to support the final few contestants over the course.
This year looked a real toughie of a competition with Austrian Herbert Krenn and Swede Daniel Hallgren taking joint honours. The team from the Czech Republic also stole the show by sweeping the medals board in the age category - and winning the team title.
Event co-organiser Mike O'Mahoney, from Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service took silver in his age category (40-44) an impressive result following his gold medal in the rowing on day one of the Games.
Ben Walker, 28, and James McCabe, 50, from Tyne and Wear fire service were also British winners in the TFA 30 and under and 50 and under categories. Ben also took silver in the judo despite breaking a bone in his foot in his first bout.
Both guys were sent best wishes for the Games by Newcastle manager - and former Liverpool FC player - Kevin Keegan.

It's been great to get out and about during the World Firefighter Games to see everyone getting stuck into events and really enjoying themselves.
I popped along to the Dragon Boat racing and saw hundreds of people singing and cheering - some even in fancy dress.
It's nice to know that people are still getting into the spirit of the event. I'm sure lots of them are also enjoying the entertainment that Liverpool has to offer outside the events.
With the Games Village situated at the Echo Arena and most of the contestants staying local they have all had the chance to sample the city's clubs, bars and restaurants. And from what I hear they have really been partying hard!
On Saturday the real hard work starts - the fundraising.
The Chiefs challenge hopes to raise £100,000 for local charities - including the Roy Castle Lung Foundation and the Marina Dalgleish Appeal. Let's hope they hit the target.

Team UK have been going from success to success and are currently topping the medal table for the World Firefighter Games (A full medals and results table is available on the Echo website). Good on them I say.
Today brought more good news with Liverpool Lib Dem councillor Eddie Clein taking silver in the table tennis. He narrowly missed out on gold after being beaten by the German champ.
We have also have fantastic results in the Merseyside men's 11-a-side football team who beat Venezuela in the final as well as a double medal win in the Iron Dog.
The Toughest Firefighter appears to be living up to its name.
Allerton firefighter Lauren McCormack finished her heat in the Toughest Firefighter Alive today in a commendable 21mins 9 seconds.
Mike O'Mahoney from Croxteth fire station - a gold medal winner in the men's rowing - is currently in fourth place overall with an impressive 10mins 25secs.
Lauren, 24, said: "I am pleased with the time. The lad who ran with me did it in 17 minutes.
"I was a bit disappointed I never made it over the obstacle wall but three quarters into the course I dropped the 80kg dummy and had to drag it to the finish line so I was exhausted.
"The toughest part of it was running up St John's Beacon."
Lauren will next be in action in the 60kg women's boxing at the Echo arena on Monday.
It is also nice to see the firefighters themselves taking time out from the events to get involved in the Liverpool community.
A team of New York fire fighters took time out of the World Fire Fighter Games to visit youngsters in Kensington.
They thanked the children and staff of education charity Prospects 2000, who had sponsored five of the New York team to come to the Games, as part of their fire awareness project.

The 10th World Firefighter Games got underway on Monday in spectacular style.
It was a fantastic display of sportsmanship and solidarity and the hard work of organisers and volunteers in bringing everyone together was praised by all concerned.
Some competitors from South Africa actually told me that they believed Liverpool was better than Hong Kong! I don't think there is any doubt we know how to throw a party.
The first events got started today (Tues) with a great deal of excitement and Merseyside got its first gold medal in the rowing - it doesn't get better than that. Team GB have got nothing on these guys.
Keep your eyes peeled on the Echo website for the medals table - who knows our guys may do better than the team did in Beijing.
I went along to see the Iron Dog competition which seems to have caught a lot of people's imaginations but I mostly looking forward to watching the Toughest Firefighter Alive competition - I take off my hat to anyone who has the strength, the skill and endurance to complete such a gruelling event.

The World Firefighter Games 2008 gets underway on Monday with a spectacular Olympic-style opening ceremony which is expected to be attended by thousands.

Coming on the back of the Olympics in which Team GB have been unbelievably successful, organisers are hoping to recreate a similar atmosphere on Merseyside. After all where else would you see paintballing, cooking and arm wrestling appear side by side as competitive sports alongside boxing, martial arts, badminton, rowing and track and field?