[Olympics] "Goodbye Beijing" See You in Milan-Cortina in 4 Years

Director Jang Imo leads both Opening and Closing Ceremonies
Marred by Biased Judging and Doping Scandals

On the 20th, the closing ceremony performance of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics is taking place at the National Stadium in Beijing, China. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] The global winter festival, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, has come to a grand conclusion. The Olympic rings that lit up Beijing will now head to Milan-Cortina.

At 9 p.m. on the 20th (Korean time), the closing ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics was held at the National Stadium in Beijing, China. The closing ceremony was directed by Chinese film maestro Zhang Yimou, who also directed the opening ceremony.

The closing ceremony began with a scene of a gigantic snowflake-shaped cauldron floating in the air, expressing the harmony between the snowflakes created by children to lively music and the cauldron.

Following this, the national anthem was played along with the Chinese national flag, marking the official start of the closing ceremony.

A parade featuring athletes representing each country alongside their national flags took place, celebrating the festival's finale. The Korean delegation was led by speed skater Cha Min-kyu as the flag bearer, with a total of 36 members (21 officials and 15 athletes) attending to brighten the event.

On the 20th, at the National Stadium in Beijing, China, during the closing ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Min-kyu Cha, the flag bearer of the Republic of Korea delegation and silver medalist in the men's 500m speed skating, entered holding the Taegeukgi. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

A video capturing passionate moments of competition by athletes from around the world was shown, elevating the atmosphere. Six volunteers, the unsung heroes of Olympic operations, and the newly appointed IOC athlete representatives were introduced.

The ceremony concluded with the symbolic willow tree, which represents farewell in China. All participants held willow branches in their hands and exchanged farewells while looking forward to the next Olympics.

The 100-minute closing ceremony ended with the handing over of the Olympic flag to the mayors of the next host cities, Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.

In the medal tally, Norway topped the overall rankings with 16 gold, 8 silver, and 13 bronze medals. The host country China achieved its best-ever ranking, finishing third with 9 gold, 4 silver, and 2 bronze medals. South Korea concluded the games in 14th place with 2 gold, 5 silver, and 2 bronze medals.

Thomas Bach, IOC President, is speaking at the closing ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics held at the National Stadium in Beijing, China, on the 20th. Photo by Yonhap News

However, controversies unrelated to the competitions persisted even before the games began. The event had to be held under difficult conditions due to the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, and Western countries including the United States and the United Kingdom declared diplomatic boycotts, sending athletes but no government officials, in response to international concerns over human rights issues in China prior to the games.

During the opening ceremony, a woman dressed in hanbok appeared as a Chinese ethnic minority, which sparked widespread public resentment over China's "historical distortion." In short track speed skating, a discipline where Korea is strong, controversies arose as Korean athletes were disadvantaged by questionable refereeing decisions that seemed to favor Chinese athletes.

In response, the Korean delegation announced plans to file a complaint with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). In the mixed team ski jumping event, Germany, Norway, Austria, and Japan were disqualified for allegedly violating uniform regulations, further expanding the controversy over refereeing errors.

Doping controversies, which should not occur at the Olympics, also emerged. Kamila Valieva, a female singles figure skater competing under the Russian Olympic Committee due to state-sponsored doping allegations, was found to have tested positive for a banned substance in a sample submitted during a domestic Russian competition in December last year. Despite CAS allowing her to compete, Valieva was unable to overcome the pressure and finished without a medal.

In snow sports held on 100% artificial snow, inadequate management of competition facilities led to nearly half of the alpine skiing participants failing to complete their runs, raising concerns about injury risks. Additionally, the amount of water used to produce snow during the games was equivalent to filling 800 Olympic-sized swimming pools, enough to supply drinking water for 100 million people for a day, raising environmental concerns.

Leaving behind regrets, sports representatives from around the world who concluded the Olympics now look forward to the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics in Italy four years from now.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.