2010 Winter Olympics: Closing ceremonies — Light-hearted event brings Games to a close

VANCOUVER, B.C. — Mourning the death of an athlete, the 2010 Olympics started with solemnity and sadness.

Celebrating the most gold medals ever won by a host country and what they view as a wildly successful endeavor, the closing ceremonies were notable for their humor and light-heartedness.

The event started with the raising of the fourth leg of the indoor torch. A technical glitch kept it from rising out of the floor of BC Place during opening ceremonies and some saw it as a sign of trouble. Organizers were even asked what they would do to make up for the gaffe, which they felt was an insult to Olympic gold medalist Catriona LeMay Doan, who stood motionless, while the other famous torchbearers lit their legs of the cauldron.

As the lights dimmed, and the music started, fireworks sputtered from the hole where the fourth leg still lay down in the floor. Then a rubber chicken came flying out, complete with sound effects.

A suspender-wearing engineer pulled the leg up, much to the delight of the crowd, which screamed when Doan appeared center stage holding her lit torch.

She then ignited the cauldron and disappeared through the floor.

The organizers proved, they are nothing if not resilient and good humored.

"I believe we Canadians tonight are stronger, more united, more in love with our country and more connected with each other than ever before," said John Furlong, CEO of the Vancouver Organizing Committee, who has dealt with his share of problems, mishaps and tragedy during the past three weeks. "If the Canada that came together on opening night was a little mysterious to some, it no longer is. Now you know us … eh?"

Furlong acknowledged every difficulty, from the death of Nodar Kumaritashvili, a luge athlete from Georgia who died in a training accident before the Games began, to the weather problems at Cypress Mountain that forced delays and caused organizers to cancel nearly 30,000 spectator tickets.

"Alexandre (Bilodeau, mogul skier), your first gold medal gave us all permission to feel like and behave like champions," he said. "Our last one (hockey) will be remembered for generations."

Hosting the Olympics, he said, would hopefully inspire the world's youths to "grow up and experience the pleasure of sport."