the beijing 2022 winter games conclude on Sunday, February 20 with a closing ceremony that follows the 17 competition days.
the main event will officially bring the olympic games to a close and see the hosts hand over the flag to milano Cortina 2026, where the next winter games will take place.
Beijing 2022 was the second Olympic Games to be organized in the space of six months after the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games, held in July 2021 after being postponed by 12 months due to the covid-19 pandemic.
Keep reading to learn more about what you can expect at the closing ceremony.
where will beijing 2022 closing ceremony take place?
the closing ceremony will be held at the beijing national stadium, known as the bird’s nest, in the Chinese capital .
The stadium hosted the spectacular Beijing 2022 Opening Ceremony on Friday, February 4, in addition to the ceremonies and athletics for the Beijing 2008 Summer Games.
when will beijing 2022 closing ceremony take place?
Beijing 2022 closing ceremony will take place on Sunday, February 20, 2022, at 8:00 p.m. m. china standard time in beijing.
It’s 1:00 p.m. in Central Europe, where the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will take place.
it’s 04:00 a.m. m. in Los Angeles, site of the 2028 games.
who won the most medals in beijing 2022?
Norway led the medal count with 16 gold, eight silver and 13 bronze for a total of 37 medals.
Germany was second with 12 gold, 10 silver and five bronze for a total of 27 medals.
hosts china were third with nine golds, four silvers and two bronzes for a total of 15 medals.
norwegian biathlete johannes thingnes boe was the most successful athlete in beijing 2022 with three medals, four gold and one bronze.
her teammate and biathlete mars olsbu roeiseland was the most successful female athlete at the games with three gold and two bronze medals.
finland won the final gold of the games, men’s ice hockey, which was the last competitive event.
beijing 2022 closing ceremony bearers
roeiseland will carry the flag of norway.
xu mengtao, who won gold in the women’s freestyle air skiing and silver in the mixed team event, and gao tingyu, who won gold in the men’s 500m speed skating, will carry the flag of the hosts china.
elana meyers taylor, who won silver in the women’s monobob and bronze in the women’s 2 bobsleigh, will be the flag bearer for team usa. uu..
what happens at the closing ceremony?
Expect some spectacular views, as seen at the opening ceremony.
The closing ceremony opens with a farewell message from the chairman of the beijing organizing committee for the 2022 olympic and paralympic winter games, cai qi.
xi jinping, president of the people’s republic of china, and thomas bach, president of the international olympic committee will also deliver messages.
victory ceremonies for the women’s cross-country skiing 30 km mass free start and men’s cross-country skiing 50 km mass free start will be held. p>
The closing ceremony includes a parade of flags representing all the participating nations, beginning with the founding country of greece and ending with the host nation.
The remaining Olympians march in an athlete parade, but unlike the opening ceremony, there is no order as the athletes walk en masse.
The Olympic flag is lowered and the flag of the next Winter Olympics host country, Italy, is raised, along with the flag of the current host country, China .
As part of the traditional flag presentation ceremony, the Olympic flag will be presented to the mayors of the Italian cities of milan and cortina-d’ampezzo, hosts of the 2026 winter olympic games.
then the beijing 2022 games are declared closed during a speech by ioc president bach. This declaration becomes official with the extinguishing of the Olympic flame.
The Olympic Games come to an official end with a fireworks display.
The Olympic Summer Games and Winter Games will officially return to the traditional two-year cycle, beginning with Paris 2024.
how to watch and follow beijing 2022 closing ceremony
Viewers in some countries will be able to watch the ceremony live on the Olympic Channel via olympics.com and with highlights on the official Olympic Games YouTube account.
Keep up with all the action on our live blog updates throughout Beijing 2022, here.