Handover, in the political-historical sense, often refers to the transfer of power of former

colonies In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

(particularly those of former British colonies) to the local people. The term was also used for the transfer of the Panama Canal and the

Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...

to Panama, and the returns of sovereignty to Iraq by the United States. * The transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong, a former

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Council ...

, from UK to People's Republic of China in 1997. After the Handover, Hong Kong has become a ''special administrative region'', a first-order division. See transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong. * The transfer of sovereignty of Macau from Portugal to People's Republic of China in 1999, and has become a special administrative region. Also the term (especially in the media) refers to the Olympic protocol during the closing ceremonies also known like Antwerp ceremonial when the mayor of the city that organized the Games returns the

Olympic flag The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses icons, flags and symbols to elevate the Olympic Games. These symbols include those commonly used during Olympic competition—such as the flame, fanfare and theme—as well as those used throughout ...

to the president of the International Olympic Committee, who then passes it on to the mayor of the next city to host the Olympic Games.

See also