International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach on Sunday night gave a thumbs up to the athletes of Beijing 2022 and called for world leaders to follow their example of solidarity and peace.

Bach made the remarks before he declared the close of the 24th Winter Olympic Games at a ceremony at the iconic Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing.

Athletes from countries that are divided by conflict have respected, supported and embraced each other over the past 16 days, he said.

"You overcame these divisions, demonstrating that in this Olympic community we are all equal – regardless of what we look like, where we come from, or what we believe in," Bach said.

"This unifying power of the Olympic Games is stronger than the forces that want to divide us: you give peace a chance," said the IOC chief, calling on political leaders around the world to follow the athletes' example.

He called on humanity to beat the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic by practicing the new Olympic motto.

"If we want to finally overcome this pandemic, we must be faster, we must aim higher, we must be stronger – we must stand together."

Bach also paid tribute to volunteers and the "gracious" Chinese people as hosts.

The IOC on Saturday awarded the Olympic Cup to the Chinese people in recognition of their support for the Games.

Read more: 

Bach: Winter sports 'fundamentally' changed after Beijing 2022

Live: Special coverage on the closing ceremony of Beijing 2022 Winter Games

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach officially declared the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics closed at the National Stadium on Sunday night.

Cai Qi, president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, is now speaking at the closing ceremony.

The Olympic flag was lowered at the National Stadium in Beijing on Sunday and then handed over to the mayors of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, the Italian cities that will host the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

The closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics began at 8:00 p.m. BJT on Sunday. Here are some photos taken at the National Stadium, also known as the "Bird's Nest", in the Chinese capital.

New members of the IOC Athletes' Commission presented commemorative gifts to representatives of the volunteers at the Beijing 2022 to express gratitude for their work during this edition of the Winter Olympics.

Victory ceremonies are being held at the closing ceremony to present medals for the cross-country skiing women's 30km mass start free and the cross-country skiing men's 50km mass start free.

Athletes of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics started to enter the National Stadium for the closing ceremony on Sunday night.

The closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games got underway Sunday at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, in Beijing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and the International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach made their entrance at the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

Click here for more daily quotes from the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

"Two golds, one silver, one bronze. I think it's really insane. I'm so happy... I knew it was real, but also a little surreal because 'No, it's the Olympics. It's one... you have one chance, one shot in four years," Suzanne Schulting, Dutch short track speed skater, told CGTN in an exclusive interview. 

Click here for more of our exclusive interviews with the Olympians.

The China Media Group(CMG) interviewed International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach on the last day of the Beijing Winter Olympics. President Bach shared his opinions on the legacy of the games, and on CMG coverage.

Team China finished their competitions at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in the three competitions zones of Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou to win nine gold, four silver and two bronze medals.

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics has changed winter sports "fundamentally," International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said on Sunday, hours before the closing ceremony of the Games.

It would leave the world with a legacy of a new global winter sports, Bach told China Media Group (CMG).

"Winter sports will fundamentally change after this Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, with engagement of more than 300 million of Chinese people in winter sports," he said.

"This is an amazing figure," he added.

According to statistics by China's National Bureau of Statistics, over 346 million Chinese people have participated in winter sports activities since Beijing's successful bid for the Games in 2015, showing that China has fulfilled its commitment.

'Olympics beyond political disputes'

Noting that the Games took place when the world saw "high political tensions," Bach said that the success of the Games proved that Olympics transcends political disputes.

He told CMG what the Beijing 2022 had impressed him most was the moments when Ukrainian and Russian athletes embracing each other, when Chinese athletes offering pin signs to their American counterparts to show their hospitality, and when athletes clapping for Chinese volunteers of the Games.

"They have demonstrated the Olympic Spirit," he said. "They have been ambassadors for friendship, understanding and peace."

CMG coverage 'unprecedented success'

The IOC chief also hailed CMG's coverage of the Games through all its platforms, describing it as an "unprecedented success."

CMG's Beijing Winter Olympics-related coverage had achieved a total of over 48.4 billion views, according to available data as of February 17, three days before the Game's close, a number higher than the total figures from Tokyo 2020 (hosted in 2021 due to the pandemic), which stood at 47.9 billion.

The IOC also appreciated the role CMG has played in promoting bigger understanding of the Olympics among the Chinese people, Bach said.

"CMG really managed to make the Chinese people more enthusiastic about the Games," he said.

The IOC on Saturday awarded the Olympic Cup to the Chinese people in recognition of their support for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

After host nation China surpassed its previous records for gold medals and total medals at a Winter Olympics, the Chinese Olympic Committee presented gifts to the country's foreign coaches to express gratitude for their contributions to the success of the athletes.

The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and China's State Council have sent a congratulatory message to the Chinese delegation for its "best in history" performance at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, scheduled to be concluded on Sunday. 

The Chinese delegation won nine gold medals, four silver medals and two bronze medals at the Beijing Winter Olympics, setting new records in both the numbers of golds and medals (15) since the country began to compete in Winter Olympics in 1980.

The delegation was praised for earning glory for China and the people and making important contributions to the success of hosting Beijing 2022. 

The nation and the people are "proud of your achievements," the CPC Central Committee and the State Council said in the message, adding that the morale and competitiveness demonstrated by Chinese athletes in the new era has vividly interpreted the Olympic spirit and the Chinese sportsmanship. 

The performance of the delegation has further promoted the development of winter sports in China and inspired and united people across the country, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council said. 

The authorities called on the delegation to make greater contributions to build China into a leading sports nation and to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Finland edged past defending champions the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) 2-1 in the men's ice hockey final at National Indoor Stadium to secure their first ever Olympic ice hockey gold medal at the 2022 Winter Games on Sunday.

Before the final, Finland, the second in the world rankings, had never won a Olympic gold medal since it entered the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) family during the Olympics in St. Moritz in 1928. They had a silver medal at Turin 2006 after losing to Sweden in the men's final. The U.S. and Canada split the seven women's titles since the women's program made its debut in 1998.

World No. 3 ROC edged past Germany 4-3 in overtime at PyeongChang 2018, and it fell 3-1 to Finland in the quarterfinals at Sochi 2014.

The 27-year-old Russian forward Mikhail Grigorenko put the puck into the net to break the deadlock at 7:17 in power play, before Finland struck back with an equalizer at 23:28 by the 27-year-old defender Ville Pokka.

Finland's forward Hannes Bjorninen scored at 40:31 to seal the victory.

The Finns won all the five games before the final, and defeated Slovakia 2-0 in the semifinals, while the Russians edged past Sweden 2-1 in shootout to reach the final.

Freestyle skier Xu Mengtao and speed skater Gao Tingyu were named as Team China's flag bearers for the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, the team announced on Sunday.

Both Xu and Gao made history by winning their events. Xu won China's first gold medal in an Olympic freestyle skiing aerials event, while Gao became the first Chinese male to be crowned in Olympic speed skating.

Four-time Olympian Xu currently holds the world record with 27 wins from freestyle skiing World Cup series, topping the all-time list with victories in Finland and Canada in 2021. She kicked off her Olympic campaign in Beijing with a silver medal in mixed team aerials with teammates Jia Zongyang and Qi Guangpu, the latter winning the men's aerials two days after Xu's victory in the women's category.

Read more: Xu Mengtao makes history winning women's aerials gold at Beijing 2022

Gao, 24, set a new Olympic record of 34.32 seconds in speed skating men's 500m, slicing 0.09 seconds off the previous record.

As one of the flag bearers for China in the opening ceremony, Gao later described his excitement on China's twitter-like social media, Weibo, saying that being a flag bearer fueled him with much strength, and that he would live up to it with his best performance, which he did by adding a fourth medal for Team China in Beijing.

Read more: Chinese speed skater Gao Tingyu wins men's 500m final in Olympic record time

The closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games will be held on Sunday evening at the National Stadium, also known as the "Bird's Nest" in Beijing.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has awarded the Olympic Cup to the Chinese people in recognition of their support for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, IOC President Thomas Bach announced during the 139th IOC session in Beijing on Saturday.

"The Beijing 2022 could not have achieved this level of excellence without the support of the Chinese people. We could feel their warmth, energy, hospitality and support. They were greatly committed to the success of the Games," Bach said.

"Chinese people from all walks of life, across all generations, from the cultural world, artists, scientists, engineers, school children and the thousands of volunteers, all welcomed the athletes and us very warmly. This was truly heartwarming and crucial for the success of the Beijing Winter Olympics," he added.

This special recognition of the Chinese people followed the final reports by the Beijing 2022 organizing committee and Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., the Chairman of the IOC Coordination Commission for Beijing 2022, to the IOC session before the close of the Beijing Winter Olympics on Sunday.

After Beijing 2008, the IOC also awarded China the Olympic Cup, acknowledging its great contribution to the Olympics.

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IOC President Bach congratulates CMG for unprecedented Beijing 2022 broadcast results, awards CMG President Shen IOC President's Trophy

IOC president praises CMG's Winter Olympics broadcast technology