Nanjing Completes Its Innovative Youth Olympic Games on August 28th with Spectacular Closing Ceremony

On August 28th, the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) came to a stunning conclusion today at the Olympic Sports Centre Stadium in Nanjing, China. The Ceremony marked the end of 12 days of intense athletic competition and cultural and educational activities enjoyed by 3,800 young athletes and thousands of spectators. Premier of China, Li Keqiang and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach attended and watched the whole closing ceremony. (Photo: Business Wire)

NANJING, China--()--On August 28th, the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) came to a stunning conclusion today at the Olympic Sports Centre Stadium in Nanjing, China. The Ceremony marked the end of 12 days of intense athletic competition and cultural and educational activities enjoyed by 3,800 young athletes and thousands of spectators.

As the Premier of China, Li Keqiang, and a stadium packed with spectators looked on, a series of Closing Ceremony performances unfolded which included state-of-the-art projections, LED displays and boisterous firework displays.

The YOG Closing Ceremony featured eight distinct sections, each with its own theme, and the letters in the word “Nanjing” were turned into seven huge stages for 1,200 performers. Hundreds of NanjingLeLes, the popular YOG mascot, joined in the farewell celebration by carrying works of art by the children of Nanjing expressing their hopes for their city, the YOG and the future.

One of the highlights in the Closing Ceremony paid tribute to the YOG volunteers. Five volunteer representatives received flowers from the athletes in recognition and appreciation of the volunteers’ great contribution to the Games.

The 520 acrobats from the renowned Tagou Martial Arts School behind the breathtaking aerial “Dream Tower” performed at the Opening Ceremony had an encore performance. They even raised the height of the aerial performance 18 meters higher than at the Opening Ceremony.

Earlier in the day, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said, “We have seen an excellent organization during these YOG from transportation to communication to venue management. Everything went very, very well.”

In recognition of the debut of the Nanjing 2014 Sports Lab and many new events, including new mixed gender and mixed nationality team events, Bach described the Nanjing 2014 as the "Youth Olympics of innovation".

Near the end of the ceremony, the crowd roared with excitement as international Argentinean football star, Lionel Messi appeared on a giant screen to invite everyone to come to Buenos Aires in 2018.

At the end of the Ceremony, as the Nanjing 2014 Olympic was gradually extinguished, fireworks burst into the sky to symbolize that the spirit of the YOG will continue on.

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Contacts

NYOGOC
Shen Zhengyu, +86-25-5666-1136
shenzhengyu@nanjing2014.org

Contacts

NYOGOC
Shen Zhengyu, +86-25-5666-1136
shenzhengyu@nanjing2014.org