Monday, February 27, 2006
Arrivederci!
The last Olympic event had an appropriate ending. The 50k men's cross country, which is about 30 miles on skis, had several athletes all bunched up as they got close to the finish line. Suddenly, Italy's Giorgio di Centa sprinted past the competition, winning the gold by less than a second! And one last time, the crowd went wild. The medal ceremony took place right before the closing of the games.
The closing ceremonies were about as odd as the opening, except that this one was more obviously like a Fellini movie. Apparently, this weekend is Carnevale, a festival held throughout Italy. So there were people in the audience wearing angel and devil masks, hundreds of performers dressed as though they were in the circus, and even athletes wearing clown noses, which I thought was great.
There was also the requisite amount of traditional ceremony, with the Olympics president declaring the games closed, the Canadian flag going up with an opera star singing the anthem, and the Olympic flag being passed from the mayor of Torino to the mayor of Vancouver, where the next winter games will be. There was some concern about how Sam Sullivan, Vancouver's mayor, would heft and wave the flag as he is a quadriplegic. The man is incredibly resourceful, though, and had a specially made flag stand attached to his wheelchair and then drove the chair in circles so the flag would wave. Sullivan, by the way, had been a skier until an accident on the slopes at age 19.
There was the usual parade of international flags carried by athletes. Each nation competing picked one athlete to carry their flag. The US chose Joey Cheek, and he seemed more than happy to do it. Later, the rest of the athletes came into the stadium. The musical accompaniament for the parades was amusing; pop Italian such as "Volare" and "That's Amore". One of the more bizarre musical moments, though, was a marching band of clowns playing "YMCA".
There was confetti, juggling, gymnastics on trampolines, a choir of children dressed as angels, and clowns climbing out of tiny Fiats. The most surprising feat, though, was the use of a powerful vertical wind machine to hold performers aloft as they floated like birds. One had skis on his feet and another pantomimed snowboarding. That looked as dangerous as some of the Olympic events.
Ricky Martin performed live, which got the athletes dancing. How I would have loved to have been there, wearing a clown nose, of course.
The closing ceremonies were about as odd as the opening, except that this one was more obviously like a Fellini movie. Apparently, this weekend is Carnevale, a festival held throughout Italy. So there were people in the audience wearing angel and devil masks, hundreds of performers dressed as though they were in the circus, and even athletes wearing clown noses, which I thought was great.
There was also the requisite amount of traditional ceremony, with the Olympics president declaring the games closed, the Canadian flag going up with an opera star singing the anthem, and the Olympic flag being passed from the mayor of Torino to the mayor of Vancouver, where the next winter games will be. There was some concern about how Sam Sullivan, Vancouver's mayor, would heft and wave the flag as he is a quadriplegic. The man is incredibly resourceful, though, and had a specially made flag stand attached to his wheelchair and then drove the chair in circles so the flag would wave. Sullivan, by the way, had been a skier until an accident on the slopes at age 19.
There was the usual parade of international flags carried by athletes. Each nation competing picked one athlete to carry their flag. The US chose Joey Cheek, and he seemed more than happy to do it. Later, the rest of the athletes came into the stadium. The musical accompaniament for the parades was amusing; pop Italian such as "Volare" and "That's Amore". One of the more bizarre musical moments, though, was a marching band of clowns playing "YMCA".
There was confetti, juggling, gymnastics on trampolines, a choir of children dressed as angels, and clowns climbing out of tiny Fiats. The most surprising feat, though, was the use of a powerful vertical wind machine to hold performers aloft as they floated like birds. One had skis on his feet and another pantomimed snowboarding. That looked as dangerous as some of the Olympic events.
Ricky Martin performed live, which got the athletes dancing. How I would have loved to have been there, wearing a clown nose, of course.
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