The closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics was held at the Beijing National Stadium in Beijing on 20 February 2022. As mandated by the Olympic Charter the proceedings combine the formal ceremonial closing of this international sporting event (including closing speeches, hoisting of the flags, the parade of athletes, and the handover of the Olympic flag) with an artistic spectacle to showcase the culture and history of the current and next host nation (Italy) for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.[1]
| Date | 20 February 2022 |
|---|---|
| Time | 20:00 - 21:40 (UTC+8) |
| Venue | Beijing National Stadium |
| Location | Beijing, China |
| Coordinates | 39°59′30″N 116°23′26″E / 39.99167°N 116.39056°E |
| Theme | Together For A Shared Future[citation needed] |
| Filmed by | CCTV and OBS |
The closing ceremony was directed by film director and producer Zhang Yimou, who also directed the opening ceremonies of the 2022 Winter Olympics and previously directed and produced the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics.[2]
Theme and Concept
According to Zhao Weidong head of the 2022 Olympic organising committee's media department the theme of the closing ceremony will be:
- Together For A Shared Future
- Beijing as the city to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics
- Celebrations of athletes' achievements at those Games
As stated by Zhang Yimou, somewhere during the closing ceremony will re-create a moment from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics, as for the Beijing National Stadium being the venue for the ceremonies of both Summer and Winter Olympics.
Ceremony key team
- Closing Ceremony Director – Zhang Yimou[3]
- Chief Lighting Designer – Sha Xiaolang
- Announcers
- French – Zhang Shanhui (CGTN French news anchor)
- English – Li Dongning (CGTN English news anchor)
- Mandarin Chinese – Kang Hui (CCTV news anchor)
Proceedings[4]
Entrance of the President of China and the President of the IOC
Opening Performance: Lighting the Emblem
Dancers lightened the emblem as Frank Mortenson's brand new record for the 2022 Olympics, "It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow" written originally in 1938 by Irving Berlin, was played.
National Anthem of the People's Republic of China
Entry of countries' and regions' flags & Parade of nations
The flags of the 91 competing nations entered the stadium first, followed by all the athletes who were still in Beijing marching in together as one group accompanied by an arrangement of Beethoven's Ode to Joy.
Highlights video: "2022 and me"
Victory Ceremonies
Introduction of the IOC athlete's commission new member and recognition of the volunteers
Video: Powered by Belief
Moment of Remembrance: Bidding Farewell with a willow twig
Highlights video: "2022 and us"
Greek National Anthem and handover of the Olympic flag
First, the Greek flag was raised while the Greek national anthem is played. The Olympic flag was then lowered while the Olympic Hymn was sung in Greek. Afterwards, the flag was passed from the mayor of Beijing, Chen Jining, to IOC president Thomas Bach, who then hand it over to the mayors of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Gianpietro Ghedina. This was followed by the raising of the flag of Italy and the playing of its anthem. During the Italian national anthem, a projection of stars (representing the 7,918 comuni of Italy) formed the outline of Italy. The Olympic flag will be raised again in Paris, France for the 2024 Summer Olympics on 26 July 2024 for its opening ceremony.
Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo 2026 Performance: "Duality, together"
As per tradition, Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, the host cities of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games presented an artistic performance at the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics. But due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the belief that "less is more", only 6 performers were sent.[5]
The artistic performance of the segment is called "Duality, Together", which coincidentally matched with "Together for a shared future", the slogan of the 2022 Winter Olympics. According to Christian Milici (Head of Events), they aimed to celebrate the harmony which links two cities (Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo) that are apparently different, but in dialogue with each other.[6] As a result, the segment was focused on the harmony between humanity and nature. The starts out with two children rolling a globe representing the two next host cities inviting the world for the 2026 games and the Silk Road (a historical important trading route between Europe and Asia). The first film depicted two people (a man and a woman) running across the country. After the first film, the two then performed together to represent the current progress and the cultural aspects of the country. After the segment, a second film was shown depicting various athletes holding several Italian flags and flags with the 2026 Winter Olympics logo. It then shows several open-aired parties across the country as Frecce Tricolori flies over Venice and the Italian Alps.
Production team [7]
- Head of Events: Christian Milici
- Creative director: Marco Balich
- Artistic director: Lida Castelli
Performers[8]
- Violinist：Giovanni Andrea Zanon
- Singer: Malika Ayane
Speeches by President of the Beijing organizing committee and president of the IOC
Video: Farewell! Together for a shared future!
Following the declaration of the closing of the Games, a video was shown of Beijing citizens and Winter Games volunteers bidding farewell to their international guests. It concluded with Olympic mascot Bing Dwen Dwen watching a snowflake fly upwards towards the sky.
Extinguishing of the Olympic flame
The Olympic flame, burning in a torch placed in the middle of a giant snowflake-shaped cauldron, was gradually extinguished. "You and Me", the theme song of the 2008 Summer Olympics and "Snowflakes", the theme song of the 2022 Winter Olympics were then sung by the Beijing Philharmonic Choir (北京愛樂合唱團) to highlight the historic achievement of the Chinese capital to become a dual Olympic city and to mark the end of the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Dignitaries in attendance
Host nation dignitaries
- People's Republic of China –
- Xi Jinping — General Secretary of the CPC, Chairman of the CMC and President of the PRC
- Peng Liyuan — First lady of China
- Li Keqiang — Premier of the People's Republic of China
- Cai Qi — CPC secretary of Beijing , CPC Politburo member and Chairman of the Beijing 2022 Organising Committee
- Chen Jining — Mayor of Beijing
International dignitaries
- Chinese Taipei − Wu Cherng-dean, Chairperson of the New Party[9]
- Italy − Giuseppe Sala, Mayor of Milan
- Italy − Gianpietro Ghedina, Mayor of Cortina d'Ampezzo
Heads of international organizations
Games declared closed
IOC President Thomas Bach formally closed the games, praising them as excellent and unforgettable, and said we will ensemble a team in four years time in Milano & Cortina in French. And then later the flame was extinguished.[10]
Anthems
- National Anthem of the People's Republic of China
- National Anthem of Greece – London Symphony Orchestra
- Olympic Anthem – Sang by the Malanhua'er Children's Choir in Greek
- National Anthem of Italy – Sang by Malika Ayane and played on violin by Giovanni Andrea Zanon
Victory ceremonies
- National Anthem of Norway – London Symphony Orchestra[a]
- Piano Concerto No. 1 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – London Symphony Orchestra[b]
Notes
- ^ Anthem played as part of the Women's 30km mass start free victory ceremony.
- ^ Anthem played as part of the Men's 50km mass start free victory ceremony. This event was shortened to 30km due to high winds and freezing temperature.
See also
References
- ^ "Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 - Updates on Spectators, Vaccination And COVID-19 Countermeasures - Olympic News". International Olympic Committee. 2021-09-30. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
- ^ "Everything You Need To Know About The Closing Ceremonies Of The Beijing Olympics". WashingtonPost.com. February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
- ^ Buckley, Chris (4 February 2022). "A familiar face will again direct the opening ceremony in Beijing". New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 February 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ "Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games Closing Ceremony Programme List". Twitter. CGTN Sports scene. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ^ Ip, Cyrus; Lau, Jack (20 February 2022). "Winter Olympics: 5 things to watch out for at the Beijing 2022 closing ceremony". South China Morning Post. Asian One. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ^ Elbaba, Julia (20 February 2022). "Italy Introduces 'Duality, Together' in Milano Cortina 2026 at Handover Ceremony". Yahoo Sports. NBC. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ^ Michael Houston (2022-02-20). "Bach calls on leaders to find peace as Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics close". Inside the games. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
- ^ Michael Houston (2022-02-20). "Bach calls on leaders to find peace as Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics close". Inside the games. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
- ^ Lyu, Jia Rong (18 February 2022). "TAO: New Party Chairman Wu Chengdian arrived in Beijing to participate in the closing of the Winter Olympics 國台辦：新黨主席吳成典等人抵達北京 將參加冬奧閉幕". United Daily News. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
- ^ "IOC President Thomas Bach Declares Beijing Winter Olympic Games Closed". Yahoo.com. February 20, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2022.