Off the wire
• Chile's coach looking at players from foreign clubs  • Aussie dollar recovers amid weakening greenback in offshore trade  • Dollar in mid-112 yen range in early trading in Tokyo  • Australian government approval rating falls to new low: poll  • Tokyo stocks open down on Wall Street's slump, firm yen  • 1080-blackmailer back in court, motivation uncloaked  • Nadal eliminated from Rio Open  • Barca extend lead in Spain as Atletico and Real both drop points  • Dortmund win, Schalke held in German Bundesliga  • PSV, Ajax and AZ march on, Feyenoord remain winless  
You are here: 　 Home

Winter Youth Olympics end with festive closing ceremony

Xinhua, February 22, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Lillehammer 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games came to an end on Sunday with a festive closing ceremony and the official handover to the next host city, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Dancers and acrobats performed to live music as athletes, volunteers and other spectators cheered and danced in a jubilant atmosphere at the Sjogg Tent at Stampesletta in Lillehammer, Norway.

During the ceremony, the Olympic flag was lowered and handed to the host of the next Winter Youth Games, while live video also showed the Youth Olympic flame was extinguished in Sjogg Park in downtown Lillehammer.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach received the Olympic flag from Lillehammer mayor Espen Granberg Johnsen and passed it to Daniel Brelaz, mayor of the city of Lausanne.

The IOC chief, who declared the second Winter Youth Olympic Games closed at the ceremony, urged the young athletes to spread the Olympic spirit following the ten-day events.

"And now when you go home, please take this Olympic spirit that you have shown here with you. Share this Olympic spirit with all your friends and communities," Bach said.

"If you all share this Olympic spirit of friendship, understanding and tolerance with each other, then together we can make the world a better place," he added.

A total of 1100 young athletes from the age of 14 to 18 from about 70 National Olympic Committees competed in 70 medal events during the Games from Feb. 12 to 21 in Norwegian cities of Lillehammer, Hamar, Gjovik, Oyer and Oslo.

Cultural exchange, learning and sharing were also important parts of the Youth Olympic Games as the young athletes were engaged in many culture and education programs to help them foster the Olympic values.

The Youth Olympic Games was established on April 25, 2007 on the initiative of the former IOC President Jacques Rogge. The vision of the Games is to encourage young people around the world to practice sport, raise awareness of Olympism and encourage them to adopt the values of Olympism and disseminate the message of the Olympic Movement around them.

The first summer version of Youth Olympic Games was held in Singapore in 2010 while the first winter version was held in Innsbruck, Austria in 2012. China's eastern city of Nanjing hosted the second Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2014. Enditem