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Laman Ismayilova

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The closing ceremony of the 25th Winter Olympic Games has been held in the Italian host cities of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, officially bringing the Milano–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics to a spectacular conclusion, AzerNEWS reports.

For the first time in history, the closing ceremony of such a major international sporting event was held at a venue included on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list, adding special symbolic significance to the occasion. The ceremony was marked by vibrant artistic performances and memorable cultural presentations celebrating both sport and Italian heritage.

At the conclusion of the event, the Olympic flag was formally handed over to France, which will host the 2030 Winter Olympic Games, continuing the tradition of passing the Olympic mantle to the next host nation.

The 2026 Winter Olympics featured 116 medal events across 16 sports, seven more than at the Beijing 2022 Games. The program was expanded with several new competitions, including mixed team skeleton, men's and women's moguls, as well as alpine skiing sprint and team events. However, the mixed team alpine skiing event was not included in this edition of the Games.

In the overall medal standings, Norway finished in first place, confirming its traditional dominance in winter sports. United States ranked second, followed by Netherlands in third place.

Azerbaijan at 2026 Winter Olympic Games

Azerbaijan was represented at the 25th Winter Olympics by Vladimir Litvintsev in figure skating and Anastasia Papatoma in alpine skiing (slalom).

In men's singles figure skating, Vladimir Litvintsev took to the ice for Azerbaijan. He earned 63.63 points in the short program and placed 29th overall, which did not allow him to advance to the free skate segment of the competition. Despite not qualifying for the final round, his participation marked another Olympic appearance for the skater on the international stage.

Azerbaijan was also represented in alpine skiing by Anastasia Papatoma in the women's slalom event. She completed both runs with a combined time of 2:09.15, finishing 51st among 95 competitors. Her performance contributed to Azerbaijan's continued presence in Olympic winter sports.