Joyous end to Beijing’s Olympic debut

LOCATION: BeiJing

DATE: March 21st, 2010

BY: Bridge of friendship

 

DETAILS:

Fireworks light up the sky during the Closing Ceremony on August 24 in Beijing.

Wonderful performance

Acrobats perform on memory tower

Sacred flame extinguished

(BEIJING, August 24) — Heavenly drums, silver bell dancers, light wheels and flying men took center stage to greet guests at the National Stadium Sunday, August 24, for the closing celebration of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The evening's performances featured an eclectic mix of China's ethnic minority cultures and various modern elements.

A pyrotechnic display of numbers for the countdown from 29 — to indicate the 29th Olympiad — ushered in the Closing Ceremony at 8:00 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8) with an audience of more than 90,000 present. Spectacular fireworks formed a circle — the Chinese symbol of harmony and renewal — above the stadium immediately afterwards to indicate the successful completion of the Games.

A touching moment during the evening celebration came when 12 representatives of Olympic volunteers received recognition for the work that they and over a million others like them had done to help athletes, officials, reporters, spectators and visitors during the Games in Beijing and the six co-host cities. The volunteers were presented with flowers by the newest elected members of the IOC's Athletes' Commission.