In a closing ceremony with a festive tone, Milan-Cortina closed the 25th edition of the Winter Olympic Games and passed the baton to the representatives of the next edition, that of the French Alps, in 2030, this Sunday (22), in Verona.
At around 10:45 pm local time (6:45 pm Brasília time), the fire on the event’s two pyres was extinguished, located under the Peace Arch in Milan and the Dibona Square in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
The farewell to the flame marked the symbolic end of an event that, in the words of the president of the IOC (International Olympic Committee), Kirsty Coventry, ushers in a new era.
“You provided a new generation of Winter Games and established a reference model for future editions. You can be proud”, he said solemnly at the Verona Arena, the 1st century Roman amphitheater, a heritage jewel of the city of Romeo and Juliet and which served as a luxurious setting for the Olympic closing.
She was referring to the model established by Milan-Cortina, with its wide geographic dispersion to take advantage of existing facilities and thus limit economic costs and environmental impact.
This formula will be used in the next edition, in the French Alps, in 2030.
Representatives from two regions of France (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur) received the Olympic flag from Coventry, in a symbolic passing of the torch, before the playing of the national anthem, The Marseillaise.
Lots of music
The organizers had said that, like the opening ceremony on February 6, the objective of the closing ceremony would be to exalt Italian beauty, in this case mainly through music.
This went from the opera with emblematic titles such as La Traviata, Aida, Rigoletto or Madama Butterfly to a closing party with the Veronese singer Achille Lauro.
Between the presentations, in a festive and relaxed atmosphere, less formal than the opening, pop classics such as Raffaella Carrà and Ricchi e Poveri were played, as well as soundtracks by masters such as Ennio Morricone and Nino Rota.
There was also a moment for a live DJ, Gabry Ponte, with the 90s hit “Blue”, a worldwide success with the dance band Eiffel 65.
Diamonds for USA Hockey and Gu
A few hours before the farewell party, the last sporting events took place, in a lighter day compared to the previous ones and in which the United States men’s ice hockey team won the final against Canada 2-1, in a duel full of extra-sporting connotations due to the political tension between the two countries since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.
In freestyle skiing, the sport’s star, China’s Eileen Gu, successfully defended her Olympic halfpipe title, finishing the Games with a total of one gold and two silver medals. However, after the victory, she received sad news: the death of her grandmother.
In the other finals on the last day of the Games, Sweden triumphed with cross-country skier Ebba Andersson in the 50 km and with its women’s curling team, while Germany won gold and silver in the men’s four-man bobsled.
Norway dominated the medal table
In the final medal table, Norway finished top again, in an edition where it shined especially with cross-country skier Johannes Klaebo, who won all six possible gold medals.
In total, the Norwegians won 41 medals, 18 of them gold, surpassing the United States in the final medal table (33 medals, 12 gold), while third place went to the Netherlands and fourth to hosts Italy, both with ten golds.
Norway thus ends up in the lead, as in Pyeongchang-2018 and Beijing-2022. In Sochi-2014, it was second, behind Russia, but it would move to first place also considering the Russian athletes who were disqualified for doping after that controversial edition.
With the Olympic Games already over, Milan-Cortina can start thinking about the Paralympic Games, which will be held from March 6th to 15th and will open at the Verona Arena.
