Spectacular closing ceremony concludes Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics - in pictures

Hosts China finish third in medal table with Norway leading the way with a record 16 golds

Fireworks during the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the National Stadium on Sunday, February 20, 2022. EPA

Fireworks light up the sky over Olympic Stadium during the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics. AP

Athletes attend the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics closing ceremony at the National Stadium on Sunday. Reuters

Artists perform during the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the National Stadium. EPA

Dancers perform during the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics. AP

Performers participate in the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics. AP

Flag bearers walk into the stadium for the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics. AP

Team Canada, left, and Team Japan arrive during the closing ceremony. AP

Athletes from Denmark pose for a photo during the closing ceremony. AP

China athletes during the closing ceremony. Reuters

Norway's delegation enters the stadium during the closing ceremony. AFP

Athletes enter the National Stadium during the closing ceremony. EPA

Chinese President Xi Jinping during the closing ceremony. EPA

Dancers hold lanterns during the closing ceremony at the National Stadium. EPA

Dancers perform during the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics. AP

Spectators watch the closing ceremony on Sunday. Reuters

A giant snowflake at the closing ceremony. Reuters

Spectators in the stands at the National Stadium during the closing ceremony. Reuters

The Olympic flame at the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games. AFP

The Beijing Winter Olympics reached its final stop on Sunday at the National Stadium with a stunning closing ceremony.

Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the event at the Bird's Nest stadium, with his nation having hosted the Winter Games successfully during the pandemic and with some of the strictest healthy and safety measures.

There were concerns of an outbreak during the Olympics, but a multi-layered bubble kept coronavirus cases to a minimum with only 463 positive cases reported among thousands of visitors inside the bubble, which was set up on January 23 ahead of the February 4 opening date.

China exceeded expectations with nine gold medals, finishing third, while winter sports heavyweights Norway won a record 16.

The star of the Games was Eileen Gu. The 18-year-old San Francisco-born freestyle skier grabbed two golds and a silver for hosts China, further cementing her popularity as a world-class athlete, model and future superstar, even though her success raised questions about her decision to represent China and not the US, where she developed as an athlete.

There was plenty of drama elsewhere, with the biggest involving 15-year-old Russian skater Kamila Valieva.

Valieva failed a doping test in December but the result was only revealed on February 8, a day after she had helped the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) to win the team event.

However, she was allowed to participate in the singles but finished fourth in dramatic fashion. Valieva - the pre-tournament favourite for women's singles gold - fell several times on the ice in the finals, prompting a harsh reaction from her coach that IOC chief Thomas Bach later said he found "chilling".

Earlier, Finland's men's ice hockey team saved the best for last as they defeated ROC 2-1 to claim the final gold medal on offer at the Beijing Games.

Ville Pokka and Hannes Bjorninen scored while Harri Sateri was rock solid in net when called upon, facing 17 shots as the Finns capped an unbeaten run to gold by overcoming the defending champions.

"This means a lot, we made history today, it feels great," said Finnish forward Markus Granlund. "It was [an] early game, [the] fans probably woke up early, it's a big thing for Finland."