Animations performed by ribbons wrapped around the giant snowflake cauldron to form a hybrid combination of the Chinese knot and the lantern.
The flags of the 91 competing nations entered the stadium first, followed by all the athletes who were still in Beijing marching in together as one group accompanied by an arrangement of Beethoven's Ode to Joy.
During the Italian national anthem, a projection of stars (representing the 7,904 comuni of the country at the time) formed the outline of Italy.
[6] The artistic performance of the segment is called "Duality, Together", which coincidentally matched with "Together for a shared future", the slogan of the 2022 Winter Olympics.
According to Christian Milici (Head of Events), they aimed to celebrate the harmony which links two cities (Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo) that are very seemingly different, but are in dialogue with each other.
The segment starts out with two children with the names of the host cities on each of their backs rolling and hugging a inflated vinyl plastic globe, representing the two next host cities inviting the world for the 2026 games and the history of the Silk Road (a historical important trading route traced by Marco Polo which was the first link between Europe and Asia).
[8] Along the final speech and remarks made by Cai Qi, president and chairman of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the IOC President Thomas Bach formally declared the games closed, praising them as excellent and unforgettable, as per the Olympic Charter he invited in French the youth of the world to meet again in Milan and Cortina D'Ampezzo in four years time.