Sochi 2014
Russian speed skater Olga Graf and her fellow countrymen will end the 2014 Sochi Games in style during the Closing Ceremony on Sunday night. Reuters

Extinguishing and passing off the Olympic flame will mark the end of the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, beginning Sunday night local time in Russia.

It’s been a wild ride, marked by incredible performances from the world’s best athletes, and the host country will no doubt bask in its 33 total medals during the closing ceremony from Fischt Olympic Stadium.

A symbolic start time of 20:14 will kick-off the typically less flashy ceremony, when compared to the opening extravaganza that featured fantastic fireworks displays, elegantly choreographed fairly-tale scenes and a cavalcade of athletes.

Creative director Konstantin Ernst is sure to provide an epic celebration for Russia, while also honoring the Games with grace and respect. The opening ceremony only hit one snag when the fifth Olympic ring failed to light up, but Russia has promised a similar mistake won’t happen again.

The ceremony will also feature the official passing of the torch to 2018’s host, Pyeongchang, South Korea. After losing two straight bids to Vancouver and Sochi, Pyeongchang won the secret ballot to host its first-ever Games, and at least eight minutes of Sunday’s celebration will be allotted for its artistic segment.

Similar to the opening, there will be a parade of athletes, as well as the hoisting of every participating country’s flag. Sochi mayor Anatoly Pakhomov will hand the Olympic torch off to Gov. Moon-soon Choi, leader of the Gangwon province in South Korea.

Despite a heartbreaking loss to Canada in the gold medal game, the USA’s women’s hockey team stayed in Sochi to hoist its country’s flag during the closing.

The closing ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 23, at 11 a.m. EST, but will be saved for prime- time television hours in the U.S.

TV Channel: NBC

Time: Sunday, 11 a.m. Sochi time; tape-delay broadcast begins at 8:30 p.m. EST.

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