Pyeongchang dazzles with 2018 Winter Olympics closing ceremonies

Entertainers perform under a fireworks display at the closing ceremony for the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics at the Olympic Stadium in Daegwalnyeong, South Korea, on February 25, 2018. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI

Feb. 25 (UPI) — The 2018 Winter Olympics came to an end on Sunday with spectacular closing ceremonies in the host city of Pyeongchang.

The two-hour televised event began with young rollerbladers and skiers dressed in paint-splattered uniforms gliding onto a circular stage.

U.S. presidential adviser and first daughter Ivanka Trump watched the ceremonies in a V.I.P box alongside South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Senior North Korean official Kim Yong Chol.

Moon and International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach were presented with snow globes by two children born on July 7, 2011, the day Pyeongchang was awarded the Games.

South Korean singer Jang Sa-ik performed the South Korean national anthem along with a children’s singing group accompanied by xylophone-like instrument called a marimba.

Yang Tae-Hwan, 13, followed with a rock guitar arrangement of “Winter” from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons.

Athletes who competed in the games paraded through Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium waving the flag of their nation.

The IOC banned Russians from marching underneath their country’s flag due to failed drugs test, while South Korea and North Korea each carried their own flag rather than the unified flag used throughout the games.

The ceremony took a somber note as a turtle and giant puppets representing the “journey across life and death” carried on the tradition of honoring those who have died, which began at the Rio 2016 Games.

K-pop artist CL performed her hits “The Baddest Female” and “I Am the Best” alongside torches and dancers, bringing the crowd to a frenzy.

The Greek national anthem then began to play, followed by the Olympic theme, as Pyeongchang symbolically handed the Winter Olympics to the next host city Beijing, China.

Chinese skaters zoomed across the stage and illuminated pandas rollerbladed around, creating luminescent trails which formed the logo of the 2022 Games.

After eight minutes of speeches K-pop boy band EXO performed to transition into an EDM dance party led by DJs Raiden and Martin Garrix, which marked the end of the ceremonies.

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