The Beijing Winter Olympic Games came to its calculated end as China capped an unprecedented period in the history of the movement.
Controlled and calibrated in ways only that particular country could pull off - in a ‘bubble’ that kept participants and the city around them well apart at arm’s length - Beijing handed off to Milan-Cortina, as it becomes the venue for the 2026 Winter Games.
As dancers with tiny, fired snowflakes as they glided across the stadium in a ceremony that, like the opening, was headed by Chinese director Zhang Yimou, unlike the first pandemic Olympics in Tokyo last summer, which featured all but empty seats at the opening and closing, a modest but energetic crowd populated the seats of the Bird’s Nest stadium for a show that was bursting with colour, energy and enthusiasm by an appreciative presence of supporters of the sporting events that was on show and the ever-smiling hoards of local volunteers who did their level best to make this a Games that will stay in the memory of all concerned.
"Now I have to mark the end of this unforgettable Olympic experience: I declare the 24th Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 closed," International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach announced at the closing ceremony.
“The Chinese people embraced these Games. Even in the closed loop, we could make this experience of excitement, of warmth, of hospitality and of friendliness.”
Masterminded by acclaimed Chinese film director, Zhang Yimou - who was also responsible for the 2008 Summer Games' ceremonies - children dressed in sparkling coats danced around the Olympic flame as they held up snowflake-shaped lamps, which was a continuation of the opening ceremony’s main motif.
"With the truly exceptional Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 we welcome China as a winter sport country," said Bach. "Congratulations, China."
