The Vancouver Olympics may have opened with an uneasy, sombre tone, but they closed in a spirit of celebration — with a tongue-in-cheek nod to everything Canadians are deeply proud to be.
With cheers still ringing from Vancouver to Charlottetown, after Canada’s dramatic gold-medal win Sunday afternoon over the U.S. in men’s hockey, the evening’s Winter Games closing ceremony kicked off in hilarious fashion.
Mocking the awkward malfunction that delayed the lighting of the indoor cauldron at the opening ceremony, a mime went through the motions of pulling the fourth arm of the massive cauldron from the floor of BC Place.
Former speedskating champion Catriona Le May Doan emerged next, Olympic torch in hand, finally getting a chance to set the mechanical arm ablaze.
It was a fitting nod to the mishaps, misfortune and insecurities that vibrated through a country that found itself, for better or worse, under the world’s microscope for 17 long days, as over 2,500 athletes from 82 countries took part in the Games.
Opera star Ben Heppnerv sang the Olympic anthem during the bittersweet moment when the Olympic flag was lowered and marched off the stage by members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He was preceded by Greek-Canadian mezzo-soprano Ariana Chrisv, who sang the national anthem of Greece.
After the playing of O Canada, the athletes marched into BC Place, waving their flags and cheering with pride.
Canada’s flag was carried by figure skater Joannie Rochette. The 24-year-old from Île-Dupas, Que., captured the hearts of people around the world with her brilliant, resilient, bronze-medal performance in the wake of her mother’s sudden death at the start of the Vancouver Games.
(source: emphasis world)
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