He called it “the best ever Winter Paralympic Games”, and Sunday Sir Philip Craven, president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), officially brought the Games to an end.
Thousands packed Whistler’s Celebration Plaza despite the cloudy skies and dropping temperature while athletes entered along a parade route lined with hundreds of cheering spectators who couldn’t get tickets to the sold-out event, reports the Canadian Press.
The evening ended with a burst of fireworks over the village.
In his final remarks Sir Craven said, “we have seen great feats of daring, of endurance and of skill”, calling the 2010 Games the “best ever”. He said, “but the Paralympic Winter Games are not only about supreme athletic performance. They are about a community, about a far reaching and extended family”,
Vancouver 2010 CEO John Furlong said, “the era has been a good success. I don’t think any of us thought going into the Games it would be quite the success it was, and the goal of trying to touch every Canadian life has been achieved”.
Deputy CEO Dave Cobb added that tickets and merchandise sales also exceeded expectations at both the Olympics and Paralympics.
Furlong departed the Closing Ceremony early for a flight to Georgia where he, and other Olympic officials, will attend the memorial service Tuesday for a luger killed on the first day of the Olympic Games.
