VERONA, Italy, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Italy said farewell to the Winter Olympics on Sunday with a 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.
"Grazie Italia per questi Giochi magici! (Thank you Italy, for these magical Games)," said International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry.
"Now that we are reaching the end of these Games, I am feeling a lot of emotions.A little sadness, yes. But also so much pride and gratitude as I say these next words: Dear friends, I now declare the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games closed," she added.
FRENCH ALPS ARE 2030 HOSTS
The closing ceremony wasentitled "Beauty in Action" and also featured leading Italian ballet dancer Roberto Bolle who performed a spectacular aerial routine.
The Games, formally co-hosted by Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, have been spread across a large area of northern Italy. The baton now passes to the French Alps which are expected to follow a similar blueprint of using multiple existing locations.
Olympic cauldrons that have burned in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo since the Games opened on February 6 were extinguished. They will be reignited for the Paralympics which run from March 6-15.
MELONI PRAISES ITALIAN ACHIEVEMENTS
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who was in Verona, was in a celebratory mood after Italy racked up a record haul of 30 medals.
"The Olympics have given us unforgettable emotions and a sense of pride that will remain with Italy for a long time to come," she wrote on X, adding that the smooth running had "brought prestige to the entire nation".
The ceremony is being held in an open-air 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 2,000-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.
ATHLETES LET THEIR HAIR DOWN
However, with the Olympic medals won and lost, the tone of the closing ceremony in the Arena was 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 ($1,120) to a top level of 2,900 euros. The weather has been 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.
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(Additional reporting by Emilio Parodi in Verona and Alvise Armellini in Livigno; Writing by Keith Weir; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Ed Osmond and Ken Ferris and Alison Williams)
