Special Olympics athletes celebrate at the Closing Ceremony of the 2005 World Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. (Photo by Takamitsu Mifune/PHOTO KISHIMOTO)
Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado said, "I truly hope within my heart that the same atmosphere [of smiles, vitality, gentleness and peace] is one day realized throughout Japan and the entire world." (Photo by Takamitsu Mifune/PHOTO KISHIMOTO)
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The 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games came to an emotional close Saturday, 5 March, as Nagano, Japan, bid farewell to the 1,830 Special Olympics athletes in a two-hour Closing Ceremony at the M-Wave skating arena.
The Games Flag was handed to Bosnia and Herzegovina, host of the next World Winter Games in 2009, while the Special Olympics Torch was passed on to representatives of the seven Special Olympics regions before Japanese Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Hidehisa Otsuji declared the winter sports gala closed. (The location of the 2009 World Winter Games was announced at a press conference prior to the Closing Ceremony.)
The 2005 World Winter Games broke new ground for the Special Olympics movement, being the first World Games held in Asia. About 1,830 athletes from 84 countries and territories competed in seven sports — Alpine skiing, cross country skiing, figure skating, floor hockey, snowboarding, snowshoeing and speed skating. It was the biggest World Winter Games in Special Olympics history, and drew a record 11,000 volunteers. Nagano, the site of the 1998 Olympic Winter Games and Paralympics, became the first locality ever to host an Olympics, a Paralympics and a Special Olympics World games.
Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado said the Games had left "an indelible mark on the Special Olympics legacy …. Over the past week, the Games venues in Nagano were enveloped in an atmosphere of smiles, vitality, gentleness and peace. I truly hope within my heart that the same atmosphere is one day realized throughout Japan and the entire world."
Kayoko Hosokawa, Chairperson of Special Olympics Nippon (Japan) and the 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games Organizing Committee, hopes the Games will have lasting impact on Japan. "These World Games will only be called a huge success when 10 years from now in Japan, athletes who are the true heroes become pioneers who change society, and our world also changes."
Special Olympics Founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver thanked Nagano and Japan for hosting the Games and cheered the athletes, telling them they had "won the hearts of Japan and the world. As we celebrate your victory, we focus our gratitude on the great and generous volunteers and people of Japan," she said.
The Closing Ceremony began with a collage of images from the Games, with footage of athletes, supporters, volunteers and citizens shown to the accompaniment of "Taiyo" (the Sun), the official 2005 World Games song. The athletes then entered from the south and north gates of the arena and affixed photos of "smiling faces" taken by supporters during the Games to two giant "Wings of Courage," which were then raised into the air.
Representatives of all those involved in the Games, including those in the Host Town Program, volunteers and the athletes themselves, related their experiences. Lily Kuhn, 12, an Alpine skier with Team USA, read a letter she had written home to her parents, telling them "I had the best time of my life here."
Zhou Taitong, Vice Mayor of Shanghai, which will host the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games, gave an address which was followed by a short presentation and cultural program by the second Asian host of a Special Olympics World Games. "The moment the Special Olympics flame in Nagano went out our hearts were kindled by the flame of the next Special Olympics Games," Zhou said. "Let us remember, as we bid a fond farewell to each other in Nagano that the Chinese city of Shanghai has opened its arms in welcome to everyone in the world who is devoted to the Special Olympics cause."
The sound of conch shells resounding throughout the venue signaled the start of a program of traditional song and dance performances, including a joint performance of three festivals from Nagano Prefecture.The ceremony wrapped up with a 2005 version of "Wa ni Natte Odoro" (Let's Dance in a Ring).
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