ATHENS, Aug 29: The closing ceremony of the Athens Olympics got under way under a full moon on Sunday as the Greeks began showing the world that they know how to party.
Spectators packed the 75,000 seat Olympic stadium turned into a giant wheat field, to celebrate the final hours of the Games which returned to their birthplace after a 108 year lapse.
The closing ceremony was to feature a mosaic of Greek traditional music and dance followed with dozens of the country's popular singers perfomring songs from the various regions of Greece.
About 250,000 balloons were to cascade down from a night sky exploding with fireworks. The Award ceremony of the men's marathon race was to be presented prior to the entrance of the nation flags.
Athletes from all 202 participating countries were to enter the stadium without distinction of nationality, to the music of Greek composers Nikos Touliatos and Nikko Patrelakis.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge and Athens 2004 Olympic Committee Chief Gianna Angelopoulou-Daskalaki were to make their final speeches. Organisers were then to lower the Olympic flag and hand it over to the mayor of Beijing, which will stage the Games Aug 8-24, 2008.
Rogge was then due to close the Games and invite the world to Beijing with a glimmer of Chinese tradition featuring 14 young women carrying traditional lanterns and the red streamer dance as well as the Beijing Opera. The Olympics bid farewell to the flame before dozens of Greek pop stars take to the stage for the final concert. -dpa
