'Unforgettable emotions': Italy passes Olympic baton to France after 'magical Games'
Updated . First published at
Italy said a fond farewell to the Winter Olympics on Monday (AEDT) with an open-air ceremony in the ancient Verona Arena that celebrated art and sporting achievement at a Games lauded as a model for how to stage such events.
The Games, formally co-hosted by Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, have been spread across a large area of northern Italy and passed off smoothly, with Italy also bagging a record haul of 30 medals.
The baton now passes to the French Alps, which are expected to follow a similar blueprint of using multiple existing winter sports venues in 2030 to reduce the environmental impact.
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"Grazie Italia per questi Giochi magici! (Thank you Italy, for these magical Games)," said International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry.
"You delivered a new kind of Winter Games and you set a very high standard for the future," added Coventry, overseeing her first Olympics.
The next Summer Olympics will be in Los Angeles in two years' time when the IOC will seek to develop a new business model and its efforts to separate sport and politics are likely to face a daunting challenge.
MELONI PRAISES ITALIAN ACHIEVEMENTS
The closing ceremony was titled "Beauty in Action" and featured leading Italian ballet dancer Roberto Bolle who performed an aerial routine, as well as a tribute to opera and dance music from DJ/producer Gabry Ponte.
"The Olympics have given us unforgettable emotions and a sense of pride that will remain with Italy for a long time to come," Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote on X, adding that the organisation had "brought prestige to the entire nation".
Meloni was among the crowd in the Roman amphitheatre renowned for staging opera and pop concerts in the heart of the northern Italian city made famous as the setting for William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet.
Security was tight around the 2000-year-old Arena, in the heart of Verona, with barriers set up to limit access and a helicopter circling overhead. Some tourists were surprised to find access to the main Piazza Bra restricted.
Hundreds of people marched through Verona a few hours before the Olympics closing ceremony to protest against housing costs and environmental concerns linked to the Winter Games.
The "Olympics? No thanks" rally was organised by university groups and associations that oppose hosting an event they say disrupts forests, pours concrete onto fragile land and deepens social inequality.
A general view of an illuminated chandelier as performers dance during the Milano Cortina closing ceremony. Getty
Major Lazer rocking out. Getty
ATHLETES LET THEIR HAIR DOWN
However, with the Olympic medals won and lost, the tone of the closing ceremony in the arena was set to be relaxed and free-wheeling.
Italian singer Achille Lauro and DJ/producer Gabry Ponte were on hand to get the party going.
Tickets were priced from 950 euros (A$1500) to a top level of 2,900 euros (A$4800).
The weather was relatively kind, with no rain on a chilly evening.
"The ceremony in the arena will certainly be something unprecedented in Olympic history," Damiano Tommasi, mayor of Verona, and a former Hellas Verona and AS Roma soccer player, told Reuters.
"Personally, it motivates me to work towards planning a bid for the Summer Games in Italy, which have been missing for far too long," he added.
Rome hosted the Olympics in 1960 and the Italian capital dropped a bid for the 2024 Games which were held in Paris.
POSITIVE FEEDBACK
The Milano Cortina Games followed a new blueprint, with sporting events spread over a wide area of northern Italy. Feedback from athletes has been positive.
"I would say ... to Italy, I think that they did an absolutely fantastic job hosting the Olympics," said US freestyle skier Christopher Lillis, praising the venues, food and friendly atmosphere.
Olympic cauldrons have burned in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo since the Games opened on February 6.
These will be extinguished on Monday (AEDT) but reignited for the Paralympics which run from March 6-15.
