Around 8:00 p.m. local time (1:00 p.m. French time), the Chinese national anthem kicked off the evening in a stadium with stands much louder and more restless than during the opening and lined with red lanterns.

The Chinese flag is hoisted during the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games, on February 20, 2022 in the "Bird's Nest", the national stadium in Beijing Anthony WALLACE AFP

The show quickly gave way to athletes with the entry of the flag bearers.

For France, this responsibility fell unsurprisingly to the hero of these Games, Quentin Fillon Maillet, five-time medalist in biathlon.

The Austrian Johannes Strolz, an unexpected strong man in alpine skiing with three medals, and the Norwegian Marte Olsbu Roeiseland, three times titled in biathlon, also had this honor, without forgetting the flag bearer of Samoa, again dressed in his costume traditional, shirtless and oiled despite the temperatures close to zero.

Gao Tingyu, who became the first Chinese to win an Olympic title in speed skating, carried on his shoulders Mengtao Xu, Olympic champion in freestyle jumping.

Ode to Joy

On Beethoven's Ode to Joy, the athletes of the 91 delegations then began their parade, medals around their necks for some, masks on their faces for all.

At the back of the pack, the arrival of Chinese athletes, who managed to win fifteen medals (a record for the country), caused the joy of the public.

The appearance on the screens of Eileen Gu, prodigy of freestyle skiing and big star of the fortnight, was particularly acclaimed in the stands, filled to around a third of their capacity due to health restrictions.

Chinese Eileen Gu waits for her score in the slopestyle ski event of the 2022 Olympics on February 15, 2022 in Zhangjiakou Marco BERTORELLO AFP / Archives

As during the opening ceremony, the French athletes stood out, this time by starting a joyful round, quickly joined by their Japanese and Austrian colleagues.

The joy of French athletes during the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics on February 20, 2022 in the "Bird's Nest", Beijing's national stadium WANG Zhao AFP

And the volunteers, who contributed to holding the Games without a hitch despite the controversies and calls for a boycott which had shaken up the preparations, were hailed by the newly elected member of the Athletes' Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the former - French biathlete Martin Fourcade.

Former Olympic biathlon champion, Frenchman Martin Fourcade, newly elected to the IOC Athletes' Commission, greets the volunteers who participated in the Beijing Olympics, during the closing ceremony, on February 20, 2022 in the "Nid d' 'Bird', Beijing's national stadium SEBASTIEN BOZON AFP

At the end of the evening, the athletes were able to have a taste of the festivities that await them in four years in Italy.

As required by protocol, the mayors of Milan and Cortina, host cities in 2026, received the Olympic flag from the hands of the mayor of Beijing through IOC President Thomas Bach.

National Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach applauds the mayors of Milan Giuseppe Sala (c) and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Gianpietro Ghedina, whose cities will host the next Winter Olympics, during the closing ceremony of the Beijing Games, February 20, 2022 Anne-Christine POUJOULAT AFP

Then the luminous Olympic rings rose into the sky as the Olympic flame that had been burning since February 4 was extinguished, giving the signal for a spectacular fireworks display.

Fireworks illuminate the Beijing National Stadium during the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games, February 20, 2022 SEBASTIEN BOZON AFP

See you on February 6, 2026 at the San Siro Stadium in Milan for the launch of the 25th Winter Olympics.

© 2022 AFP