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Gallery|In Pictures

Photos: 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics closing ceremony

Sunday night’s ceremony was capped by a 90-second fireworks display that spelled out “one world, one family”

2022 Beijing Olympics - Closing Ceremony
The "Bird's Nest" stadium, which also took centre-stage when Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Games, was the scene for a celebratory, snowflake-themed closing ceremony attended by President Xi Jinping and a socially distanced crowd seated among red lanterns [Eloisa Lopez/Reuters]
Published On 20 Feb 202220 Feb 2022
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The Olympic flame has been extinguished in Beijing, marking the end of the most locked-down Games in history.

It was the second pandemic Olympics in the more than two years since the coronavirus first emerged in China.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, who has officially closed the Games at the Bird’s Nest stadium, praised China and thanked the people of the country for staging the Games in a safe way.

Participants were restricted to a COVID-safe bubble where they took daily tests, wore masks and observed strict protocols.

It “breaks our hearts” that some athletes could not attend because of the pandemic, Bach said.

The president of the International Olympic Committee and the mayor of Beijing handed over the Olympic flag to the mayors of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy, which will host the 2026 Winter Games.

This is the first time two cities have officially hosted the Olympics together. Cortina hosted the games in 1956. This will be the third Winter Games in Italy – Turin hosted in 2006.

After three straight Olympics held in Asia – Pyeongchang, Tokyo and now Beijing – the Games head to the West for the foreseeable future, with no chance of returning until at least 2030.

The next Olympics will be the Summer Games in Paris in 2024.

2022 Beijing Olympics - Closing Ceremony
Teams arrive during the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics. [Bernat Armangue/AP Photo]
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2022 Beijing Olympics - Closing Ceremony
Mayor of Milano city Giuseppe Sala and Mayor of Cortina d'Ampezzo City Gianpietro Ghedina wave the Olympic flag next to IOC President Thomas Bach during the closing ceremony. [Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters]
2022 Beijing Olympics - Closing Ceremony
A crowd of socially distanced spectators, separated by red lanterns, watched as the Olympic flag was lowered. [Bernat Armangue/AP Photo]
2022 Beijing Olympics - Closing Ceremony
The Beijing Games, contained inside a "closed-loop", were the second Olympics in six months to be deprived by COVID-19 of much of its festivity. [Bernat Armangue/AP Photo]
2022 Beijing Olympics - Closing Ceremony
The event was masterminded by acclaimed Chinese film director Zhang Yimou, who was also responsible for the 2008 Summer Games ceremonies. [Jae C. Hong/AP Photo]
2022 Beijing Olympics - Closing Ceremony
Fireworks lit up the night sky as the ceremony reached its crescendo, spelling out the words "ONE WORLD". [Jeff Roberson/AP Photo]
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2022 Beijing Olympics - Closing Ceremony
Children representing Cortina and Milan perform during the closing ceremony. [Jae C. Hong/AP Photo]
2022 Beijing Olympics - Closing Ceremony
Declaring the Games closed and handing over to 2026 hosts Milano-Cortina, Bach hailed an "unforgettable Olympic experience". [Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters]
2022 Beijing Olympics - Closing Ceremony
The Italian flag is raised alongside the Greece flag and the China flag during the closing ceremony. [Annegret Hilse/Reuters]
2022 Beijing Olympics - Closing Ceremony
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 Beijing’s “Bird’s Nest” stadium. [Brynn Anderson/AP Photo]
2022 Beijing Olympics - Closing Ceremony
A map of Italy is displayed during the closing ceremony. [Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters]


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