As the giant digital torchbearer extinguished the cauldron in front of athletes, audiences and volunteers, the 19th Asian Games came to an end in Hangzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, on Sunday night.

Held at Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium, which also hosted the opening ceremony of the sporting event, the 85-minute closing ceremony brought viewers an audiovisual feast powered by cutting-edge technology.

The closing ceremony featured elements of the opening ceremony, including a digital figure, representing over 100 million online users who signed up as "digital torchbearers."

Weeks ago, the avatar, named "Pioneer" or "Maker of tides" in Chinese, ignited the cauldron together with Olympic champion Wang Shun. On Sunday night, he made a heart shape with his arms and waved his hand, bidding farewell to everyone watching on site and at home.

According to Sha Xiaolan, chief director of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 19th Asian Games, the name of the virtual torchbearer was chosen from a pool of 10,000 options.

Thanks to computer numerical control (CNC) technology, the stadium's ground was transformed into a screen with 40,000 luminous points, making it the world's first CNC lawn, Sha said in an earlier interview.

The screen was a digital companion to the physical performances, showing a plethora of patterns and colors to complete the show, including waves and flowers.

Closing ceremony of the 19th Asian Games at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium in Hangzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, October 8, 2023. (Photo/CFP)

Using a mixture of virtual and augmented reality technologies, the closing ceremony team created a giant lotus based on over 1,000 lotus and sweet osmanthus flowers.

The Sunday ceremony coincided with one of China's 24 solar terms, "Cold Dew", which sees lotus flowers withering and sweet osmanthus flowers blooming.

"Through the technological flower, you can feel the power of nature, humanity and technology," said Cui Wei, deputy director of the closing ceremony, at a press conference.

The tight competition schedule only left a 24-hour window for preparations to turn the track and field stadium into the closing ceremony venue.

Running from September 23 to October 8, the 19th Asian Games featured 40 sports, 61 disciplines and 481 events in Hangzhou and five other cities in Zhejiang Province, namely Ningbo, Wenzhou, Huzhou, Shaoxing and Jinhua.

Source: CGTN
Editor: Tan Qikuan, Jin Yingzheng (Intern)