Joy and colour as curtain comes down on Asian Games
Hangzhou rounded off the 19th Asian Games on Sunday with a colourful and "joy"-themed closing ceremony after hosting the continental sporting extravaganza which organisers hailed as "one of the finest" ever. Watched on by Premier Li Qiang and a packed stadium hundreds of performers wearing glittery outfits and waving bight lights skipped, shimmied and jigged around, among and occasionally with the athletes. Many stood in a large circle facing spectators and waving their lights up and down like cheerleaders. Spectators, who took part in stadium announcer-led rehearsals beforehand, joined a long-lasting, steady rhythm of clapping to match the beat of upbeat music which played in the background. In a throwback to the opening ceremony last month, a digitally-projected athlete extinguished the flame in the cauldron before running the length of the stadium, waving and then running and disappearing away into the sky. The smiling performers then jigged and ran on stage in a dizzying morass of colour, noise and dancing. The less-than two hour ceremony also included a handover to the hosts of the next Asian Games in 2026, the Japanese city Nagoya. With athletes energised by warm support from home fans, China topped the medals table for an 11th successive Games, taking an artistic swimming title on Sunday, the final day. The hosts' 201st gold left them two better than their previous best of 199 at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. Hong Kong's tally of 53 medal was the SAR's best ever. Chief Secretary Eric Chan joined the spectators for the closing ceremony and paid a visit to the athlete's village to congratulate Hong Kong competitors. Organisers said 12,407 athletes from 45 territories competed in 40 sports at the Hangzhou Games, which were delayed for a year due to Covid-19. "We have hosted the most successful Asian Games in history" said Chen Weiqiang, Executive Secretary General of the Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee and vice-mayor of Hangzhou. "It can be said that during the whole 16 days of the competition, the people of Hangzhou basked in a sea of joy." (Reuters/RTHK)