That's one big fat Greek goodbye
Athens puts on a spectacular show of fireworks, song, dance — and security
MITCH POTTERSTAFF REPORTERATHENS—Greece said goodbye to the XXVIII Olympiad last night, staging an uproarious farewell pageant under the glow of a full moon, replete with security blimps and a swarm of police helicopters swirling overhead.
It was joyous enough that Athens readied itself for the Games on time, more joyous still that the 17-day festival of the humanly possible passed to its climactic conclusion without so much as a misplaced firecracker, let alone a hint of the kind of large-scale terror attacks dreaded by all.
In celebration, last night's finale was a uniquely Greek mosaic of song, dance and colour, drawing more than a dozen of the country's best-loved contemporary and traditional folk artists into a program that exploded energetically from a spiral wheat field on the stadium's floor.
Hundreds of dancers interlaced between harvesters with scythes, waving white scarves, a wave answered in turn by 70,000 attendees in the stadium, coached to be part of the program just minutes before the event was beamed live around the world.
Symbolic tables of bounty came next, a gang of grape harvesters pressed wine, and then, inevitably, a very brief but nevertheless big fat Greek wedding procession.
There were Testos dancers, Tsamikos dancers, Tsifteteli dancers and Tsakonikos dancers, each spicing the medley with regional flavour. There were fire dancers, rembetico groups, refugee processions and caricatures of Greek presidential guardsmen, circling on bicycles.
As the dances unfolded throughout the stadium floor, the scythes continued swinging through the spirals of wheat.
With the harvest complete, the harvesters, too, began to dance, holding their wheat bundles skyward as they moved to that most recognizable of all Greek sounds — composer Mikis Theodorakis' "Zorba."
And when the dance was over, the wheat spiral had taken new shape, morphing into the five Olympic rings.
The medallists of the men's marathon, who had only just completed their journey from the event's namesake, were next inside the stadium, becoming the first-ever Olympians to be presented with medals during the actual closing ceremonies.
Canada's flag bearer, Adam van Koeverden, 22, selected on the merits of his remarkable gold and bronze performances in kayak competition, entered next on a raised runway, together with his peers from 201 nations.
But there was actually a larger Canadian flag — at more than three metres long, the largest flag in the arena — carried by the remaining athletes of Team Canada as they paraded inside, together with an estimated 5,000 of the 10,500 athletes who came to Athens.
"These Games broke records. Most athletes in history, most women in history, most national teams in history. First global torch relay. First women to compete in Olympia. Safe and secure Games, blessed by a climate of celebration and joy," said Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, president of the Athens 2004 Organizing Committee, to wild applause.
"Athens was great for the athletes; Greece was great for the Games."
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge brought formalities to a close with his official declaration: "I call upon the youth of the world to assemble four years from now in Beijing."
And with that, the theme of last night's ceremonies took a continental leap eastward, as red lanterns and bunting, costumed stilt walkers and a smattering of kids representing the Beijing Opera gave Athens a hint of what the Chinese capital will feel like in 2008.
China's inheritance of the Olympic flame did not pass without protest, however. Hours before the ceremonies began, Tibetan activists breached stadium security, entering the grounds to unfurl a tattered Tibetan flag, its fabric showing five bullet holes instead of the Olympic rings.
The five women and one man, all wearing traditional Tibetan dress, sat for two hours before being led away by police.
Chinese troops occupied Tibet in 1950 and Beijing considers the Himalayan region part of its territory.
Despite the Chinese interlude during last night's ceremonies, Athens was not quite ready to let go.
A solemn service marked the dousing of Santiago Calatrava's 31-metre Olympic Cauldron, which burned non-stop atop the stadium since the Games began Aug. 13. The honour was handed to 10-year-old Fotini Papaleonidopoulou, who blew with a dramatic flourish from halfway across the venue, snuffing the fire as one would a birthday candle.
The moment launched a finale of fireworks, kites and balloons, culminating in an all-star concert featuring the leading lights from half a century of contemporary Greek music.
Additional articles by Mitch Potter
Athens puts on a spectacular show of fireworks, song, dance — and security
MITCH POTTERSTAFF REPORTERATHENS—Greece said goodbye to the XXVIII Olympiad last night, staging an uproarious farewell pageant under the glow of a full moon, replete with security blimps and a swarm of police helicopters swirling overhead.
It was joyous enough that Athens readied itself for the Games on time, more joyous still that the 17-day festival of the humanly possible passed to its climactic conclusion without so much as a misplaced firecracker, let alone a hint of the kind of large-scale terror attacks dreaded by all.
In celebration, last night's finale was a uniquely Greek mosaic of song, dance and colour, drawing more than a dozen of the country's best-loved contemporary and traditional folk artists into a program that exploded energetically from a spiral wheat field on the stadium's floor.
Hundreds of dancers interlaced between harvesters with scythes, waving white scarves, a wave answered in turn by 70,000 attendees in the stadium, coached to be part of the program just minutes before the event was beamed live around the world.
Symbolic tables of bounty came next, a gang of grape harvesters pressed wine, and then, inevitably, a very brief but nevertheless big fat Greek wedding procession.
There were Testos dancers, Tsamikos dancers, Tsifteteli dancers and Tsakonikos dancers, each spicing the medley with regional flavour. There were fire dancers, rembetico groups, refugee processions and caricatures of Greek presidential guardsmen, circling on bicycles.
As the dances unfolded throughout the stadium floor, the scythes continued swinging through the spirals of wheat.
With the harvest complete, the harvesters, too, began to dance, holding their wheat bundles skyward as they moved to that most recognizable of all Greek sounds — composer Mikis Theodorakis' "Zorba."
And when the dance was over, the wheat spiral had taken new shape, morphing into the five Olympic rings.
The medallists of the men's marathon, who had only just completed their journey from the event's namesake, were next inside the stadium, becoming the first-ever Olympians to be presented with medals during the actual closing ceremonies.
Canada's flag bearer, Adam van Koeverden, 22, selected on the merits of his remarkable gold and bronze performances in kayak competition, entered next on a raised runway, together with his peers from 201 nations.
But there was actually a larger Canadian flag — at more than three metres long, the largest flag in the arena — carried by the remaining athletes of Team Canada as they paraded inside, together with an estimated 5,000 of the 10,500 athletes who came to Athens.
"These Games broke records. Most athletes in history, most women in history, most national teams in history. First global torch relay. First women to compete in Olympia. Safe and secure Games, blessed by a climate of celebration and joy," said Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, president of the Athens 2004 Organizing Committee, to wild applause.
"Athens was great for the athletes; Greece was great for the Games."
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge brought formalities to a close with his official declaration: "I call upon the youth of the world to assemble four years from now in Beijing."
And with that, the theme of last night's ceremonies took a continental leap eastward, as red lanterns and bunting, costumed stilt walkers and a smattering of kids representing the Beijing Opera gave Athens a hint of what the Chinese capital will feel like in 2008.
China's inheritance of the Olympic flame did not pass without protest, however. Hours before the ceremonies began, Tibetan activists breached stadium security, entering the grounds to unfurl a tattered Tibetan flag, its fabric showing five bullet holes instead of the Olympic rings.
The five women and one man, all wearing traditional Tibetan dress, sat for two hours before being led away by police.
Chinese troops occupied Tibet in 1950 and Beijing considers the Himalayan region part of its territory.
Despite the Chinese interlude during last night's ceremonies, Athens was not quite ready to let go.
A solemn service marked the dousing of Santiago Calatrava's 31-metre Olympic Cauldron, which burned non-stop atop the stadium since the Games began Aug. 13. The honour was handed to 10-year-old Fotini Papaleonidopoulou, who blew with a dramatic flourish from halfway across the venue, snuffing the fire as one would a birthday candle.
The moment launched a finale of fireworks, kites and balloons, culminating in an all-star concert featuring the leading lights from half a century of contemporary Greek music.
Additional articles by Mitch Potter
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