Russia demonstrated the best of its capacities during the grand Closing Ceremony of the XXII winter Olympic Games in Sochi.

Aleksey Urmanov, a Lillehammer-1994 figure skating Olympic champion:

“I really enjoyed the ballet, Denis Matsuev’s performance, the circus idea and the picturesque show as a whole. The fireworks in the beginning and at the end of the ceremony were good as well. I also liked the medal ceremony with our skiers getting the whole podium. I don’t really know whether it was right or wrong, for if they decided to award medals at the stadium they probably should have done that for all those who had won medals that day. I believe the organizing committee just came short of a podium large enough to field the whole Canadian ice hockey team (smiles)”.

Ernest Serebrennikov, a journalist from Saint Petersburg: 

“For sure it was the most ambitious and large-scale closing ceremony in the history of the winter Olympic Games. Really, it was a powerful show and there were lots of different features incorporated in it. The main idea was to invite world-famous celebrities to take part in it, to show our young generation. And I believe it worked. Moreover, thanks to our athletes’ success during the last Olympic day the ceremony itself grew more emotional and personal than it could have been without it. I really enjoyed the things it had in common with the Olympic Games back in 1980, with our well-known symbol – the bear. They should have incorporated some kind of an explosive part in it for my liking but that’s just an opinion.”

Yuri Avdeev, Chairman of the city Committee of Physical Culture and Sports:

 “The theatrical closing ceremony we all enjoyed yesterday demonstrated the capabilities of our country and its horizons. Now we all know that we can hold the most large-scale competitions and tournaments”.

Andrey Ilichev, a Russian team fan: 

“I liked the closing ceremony a little less than the opening one. But I strongly believe that the main reason for that was the highest standard set by the opening ceremony that is sure to remain unreachable for quite a time.
The other thing contributing to that impression was that the final ceremony is abundant with protocol events (like hauling down the flag, awarding the last day’s Olympic Champions and so on). All that stuff makes it difficult to create a cohesive show. The point I really enjoyed about the ceremony was the demonstration of our culture’s grandeur to the whole world and that it included both the world-famous past events and personalities and the demonstration of present cultural greatness of Russia. Some of the best issues about the closing ceremony also include the organizers’ self-irony (the way they played upon the snowflake that failed to unfold during the opening ceremony), references to the famed Olympic Games-1980 in Moscow that is loved dearly by our elder generation, and the great amount of children involved in the show (the choir that sung the national anthem, the drummers’ parade and lots of others). Children are our country’s future!”