To mark the anniversary of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games closing ceremony, organizers of the Sochi Olympics decided to declare a contest for the best 2014 closing ceremony idea. The winner to be unveiled in mid December will get two tickets for the official opening of Sochi games.
The solemn XXII Olympic Games closing ceremony is still remembered even by those who failed to attend the event at the Luzhniki stadium that day. Millions of people watched a live broadcast of the ceremony that became a symbol of its time. The most frequently recollected moment was the appearance of a giant balloon featuring Misha the Bear, the 1980 Olympic mascot, in the middle of the stadium. Misha waved his paw to the audience and flew away.
That was a farewell to the Moscow Olympics, recollects Maria Chernova who has never seen anything like that again in her life:
"That was so touching, given that the games were held without a hitch and became one of the greatest events for every Muscovite. Most of us cried looking at the bear balloon that was getting higher and higher before it disappeared. I always recollect this moment during all other Olympic Games held in other cities and think that the ascending Misha the Bear balloon was the best ever idea."
The 1980 games closed on August 3rd. Organizers of the upcoming Sochi Olympics invented a contest of scenario ideas for the closing ceremony. The best one may provide the basis for the festivals final scenario to be worked out by a team of Russian and foreign producers.
The decision to hold a contest of this kind emerged after the Organizing Committee encountered a flow of creative proposals. Some of the ideas for closing the winter games in Sochi have excited sincere admiration among professionals. Moscow, for instance, suggested making a live bird flag to fly over the stadium.
Olympic mascot trio
Leopard, Polar Bear and Bunny Rabbit will be the official mascots of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. For the first ever time, the mascots were picked by a popular vote and not by a national Olympic committee.
A proverb has it that good things should come in threes, which is probably why the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee decided upon three mascots. Each of them matches the Olympic principles of friendship, respect and strive for perfection, the committees head Dmitry Chernyshenko said on Channel One television after the vote.
Athens had three Olympic mascots, Beijing had five and Vancouver had three.
Olympic champion Maria Kiselyova agrees that there is a happy number:
All of the three mascots personify the Winter Olympics. The polar bear is widely associated with the brown bear the mascot the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Here the bear is white, clearly, because its for the Winter Games. The bunny rabbit is so very cute. And the leopard is just wonderful - white as snow, it reminds one of winter. Besides, its a rare animal species that needs to be protected and taken care of. I hope these mascots will help our athletes to win.
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Of the 24,000 mascots sent to an all-Russian Olympic mascot competition, the jury picked 11 finalists.
Russias Santa Claus Father Frost - was pulled out of the mascot contest before the voting began, though it had been leading the race. But in case of victory, Russia`s Olympic Committee would have got ownership rights for this traditional Russian New Year symbol.
The winning trio received 62% of the vote, with leopard being among the leaders from the very start. It was especially popular in Sochi, where a unique program to preserve leopard population has been implemented since 2009.
Fire boy and Snowflake Girl were chosen as mascots of the Sochi Winter Paralympics. The choice was made by Paralympics champions of the previous years. These fantastic characters will provide energy and support to our future champions and will contribute to the development of Paralympics sports in Russia, secretary of Russia`s Paralympics Committee Mikhail Terentyev said.
The authors of winning mascots will be presented with entrance tickets to the opening and the closing ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
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Unit VI
Meals
