Performers recreate the ring that did not open during the opening ceremony during the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014, in Sochi, Russia
Flushed with pride after a spectacular showing at the costliest Olympics ever, Russia celebrated 17 days of sport-driven global unity tonight with a farewell show that hands off the Winter Games to their next host, Pyeongchang in South Korea.
"Russia delivered all what it had promised," the head of the International Olympic Committee said.
Raucous spectators chanted "Ro-ssi-ya! Ro-ssi-ya!" (Russia! Russia!) before being surrounded by multicolored fireworks and carried through a visually stunning, sometimes surrealistic panorama of Russian history and culture.
The crowd was in a party mood after the high-security games passed off safely without feared terror attacks.
"This is the new face of Russia, our Russia," said Dmitry Chernyshenko, head of the Sochi organising committee. He called the games "a moment to cherish and pass on to the next generations."
In a charming touch, the Sochi organizers used the ceremony to make a joke at their own expense.
Dancers in shimmering silver costumes formed themselves into four rings and a clump in the center of the stadium.
That was a wink to a technical glitch in the February 7 opening ceremony, when one of the five Olympic rings in a wintry opening scene failed to open. The rings were supposed to join together and erupt in fireworks.
This time, it worked: As Russian President Vladimir Putin watched from the stands, the dancers in the clump waited a few seconds and then formed a ring of their own, making five, drawing laughs from the crowd.
The closing ceremony, a farewell from Russia with love, pageantry and protocol, started at 20:14 local time; a nod to the year that Putin seized upon to remake Russia's image with the Olympics' power to wow and concentrate global attention and massive resources.
"Now we can see our country is very friendly," said Boris Kozikov of St Petersburg, Russia. "This is very important for other countries around the world to see."
The nation's $51 billion investment topping even Beijing's estimated $40 billion layout for the 2008 Summer Games transformed a decaying resort town on the Black Sea into a household name.
All-new facilities, unthinkable in the Soviet era of drab shoddiness, showcased how far Russia has come in the two decades since it turned its back on communism.