Beijing 2022 closes with great fanfare(2)

Special: 2022 Winter Olympics

Cai Qi, president of the Beijing 2022 organizing committee and secretary of the Communist Party of China Beijing Municipal Committee, said, "The Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 opens a new era for winter sports. It is yet another extraordinary example of humanity coming together for a shared future. The Olympic spirit will live on forever."

The event's closed-loop management, which required all Games participants to move only between their designated accommodation facilities and competition, training and working venues via official transportation that kept them separated from local communities, proved sound and effective. It kept athletes safe within the loop while preventing any imported cases from spreading to the outside public, paving the way for hosting more major international events safely even with the pandemic remaining.

"It was one of the safest places on the planet, if not the safest place, and this is a great achievement," Bach said of the Winter Games' closed loop at a news conference on Friday.

Although entering China with concerns about the strict COVID-19 protocols, many athletes have hailed their stay in Beijing as a reassuring experience that helped them focus on the competition.

"I've had an opportunity to speak with some athletes, and their experiences to date have been tremendous," said Rick Adams, the US delegation's chef de mission, during the Games. "The care which has been taken around the most important thing, the health and safety of the athletes and the entire delegation, has been very impressive."

Despite challenging circumstances, the host's warm hospitality, caring services at the Olympic Villages, exposure to Chinese culture during Spring Festival and traditional Chinese food impressed international athletes, prompting them to post viral videos on social media documenting their stays in Beijing and co-host city Zhangjiakou, Hebei province.

"From what I've experienced so far, China has a wonderful culture," Canadian Olympic champion curler John Morris said after a mixed double curling game. "They're very friendly, very respectful, and they've been great to us."

The cheerful atmosphere during the athletes' parade into the closing ceremony, where Olympians, regardless of their different uniforms, all danced and celebrated to the same beat of Beethoven's Ode to Joy, turned the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, into a lively party despite the wintry chill.

According to the traditional protocol of such closing ceremonies, Chen Jining, the mayor of Beijing, handed the Olympic flag to IOC President Bach, who passed it to the mayors of the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, to raise the curtain on the next Winter Olympic Games, which will be hosted by Italy in 2026.