SEVENTEEN MOMENTS OF MIRACLE

Not everyone was lucky enough to attend the closing ceremony of the first-ever European Games. Tickets were sold out long before the ceremony. The Olympic Stadium, which holds nearly 70,000 people, was packed to capacity.

Expecting more wonders, the audience, still impressed by the spectacular opening of the European Games and the subsequent 17 days of a true sporting festival, took up their seats in the stands several hours before the start of the ceremony.

Several floats forming a pattern, a large mock-up of the Maiden Tower and lots of other elements that made up the arena hinted to the audience that little by little they would be transported into the fairy-tale world of ancient Azerbaijan, from where the machine of time would bring them back to modern Baku.

"While demonstrating the unity of the traditional and modern culture of Azerbaijan, the ceremony draws attention to the future. We see how the past has formed the present and how it impacts on the future. The modern music, dance and architecture are nourished by ethnic traditions and the harmony that is created inspires us," the artistic director of the ceremony, James Hedley, said, sharing his ideas about the content of the show to come.

"Awakening"

With the sounds of a fanfare in the stadium all eyes turned towards the president's box. The spectators welcomed Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, his wife and chairman of the Organizing Committee of the first European Games Mehriban Aliyeva, the President of the European Olympic Committee Patrick Hickey, the President of Bulgaria Rosen Plevneliev, the Chairman of the Russian State Duma Sergey Naryshkin, the Chairman of the Parliament of Liechtenstein Albert Frick, representatives of the International Olympic Committee and members of the European Olympic family.

Now that the distinguished guests were in their seats, the journey to the fairy tale could begin. The countdown began and the animated patterns of an Azerbaijani carpet began to describe the numbers from 10 to zero on the monitor screens.

These may have been the patterns of the same magic carpet on which the distinguished exponent of the mugam, Alim Qasimov, welcomed the guests of the European Games. On what else would you travel to the fairy-tale world?

In fact, this was a demonstration of the singularity of Azerbaijan, which since time immemorial has spread like a large, beautiful carpet on the shores of the Caspian. The combination of so many vivid colours and unique patterns in this carpet remind one of the peaceful coexistence of different peoples and cultures within Azerbaijan. It was this concept that formed the basis of the ceremony which the organizers called "Awakening".

"Transformation"

By tradition, the ceremony began with the playing of the national anthem of the host nation. But this time, the Azerbaijani anthem was not played in its usual, classical style by a brass band or choir. In a new symphonic arrangement, the country's main piece of music was performed by Azerbaijan's Eurovision team of Sabin Babayev and Farid Mammadov, accompanied by a choir.

The Azerbaijani flag again flew over the stadium alongside the flag of the European Olympic Committee.

The sounds of Azerbaijani music resonated with modern sounds. The rhythms of the Azerbaijani nagara at the foot of the Maiden Tower echoed in the basses of the modern percussionist and the sound of the strings transferred smoothly to the "sustain" of the electric guitar and the saxophone caught the velvet melody of the balaban on the wing.

The folk and modern dancers began to exchange places on the stage and then fuse into a single ensemble. And the dresses of hundreds of other dancers on the main stage made mosaics out of beautiful patterns. Three giant figures rotated to the music on the stage, their large dresses also sparkling with different patterns. One pattern flowed smoothly into another; one culture transformed itself into another.

The ancient symbol of Baku - the Maiden Tower - a large mock-up of which gave way on the stage to the modern symbol of the city - the Flame Tower - was also a part of this transformation. Then came the moment when the magic carpet turns into a time machine and carries you from antiquity to modernity, or rather to a magic land where the old and the new live side-by-side.

And the fire watchmen in this country are not miserable old men in turbans but smiling, energetic, bright young people in shorts and trainers. It was to them, the 12,500 volunteers of the first European Games, that a short film shown on the monitor screens in the Olympic Stadium was dedicated. After all, it was in many ways thanks to the selfless support of the army of fire watchmen that this great sporting festival took place.

And what is a festival without children? The traditional parade of teams at the closing ceremony began to the sounds of the folk song "Cal-oyna" Play and Dance], sung by a children's choir. As a sign of peace and unity the members of the children's choir handed out water lilies to the standard-bearers. Also symbolic was the fact that in front of the two ranks moving towards one another were the flags of Greece, the country which gave birth to the Olympic movement, and Azerbaijan, the birth-place of the European Games.

"We are pleased that the first European Games have been held in our country. We have a sense of pride that Azerbaijan has in just two and a half years undertaken a commitment and hosted a sporting event to the highest standards. In the past 17 days we have witnessed unity, solidarity and friendship between European states," the head of the organizing committee of the first European Games and First Lady of Azerbaijan, Mehriban Aliyeva, said in her speech, expressing deep gratitude to the Azerbaijani people, President Ilham Aliyev and President of the European Olympic Committee Patrick Hickey for their great support for the Games.

"Azerbaijan has opened its heart to Europe. We have welcomed old friends and made new ones. This evening we are saying farewell to you, but we hope to see you again in Azerbaijan at future events," the hostess concluded her speech cordially.

"Europe is a continent of contrasts and great rivalry, variety, sport and competition. But here, at the European Games, we have gathered together with a common faith under one flag: the movement towards sporting and Olympic ideals leads us to a platform which unites us more and does not divide each another. This is a belief that we, 50 European countries once every four years can be together during two great weeks," the President of the European Olympic Committee Patrick Hickey said for his part.

He thanked the Azerbaijani leadership for the high level of organization of the European Games, saying that Baku has set the standard for all future European Games.

The speeches by the organizers were accompanied by the music of Christian Steinhauser, written specially for the closing ceremony.

Eternal Flame

The formal setting was replaced by a grand spectacle featuring over 500 dancers who, holding six-cornered luminous shields over their heads, collected graphical images of the pattern and the pomegranate tree from pixels - the symbol of Baku-2015. They were joined by acrobats from Cirque du Soleil who descended from the dome of the stadium.

The tender call of the kamancha was again heard over the stadium. The temple of Atasgah fire worshippers, an artist working on its roof, began to rise on the stage. He drew in the sand the "tree of life" from the legend of the Simurgh bird. Wind, waves, storm - all that he drew came to life synchronically on the main stage.

According to legend, in search of the mysterious Simurgh bird, a flock of birds suddenly realises that its spirit lives in their hearts and if they unite they will become a single secret being. And that was how the legend was brought to life in the stadium in Baku. 

This was an amazing spectacle when the Simurgh bird in the form of a huge fiery structure flew under the dome of the stadium and, hovering in the sky, scattered the seeds of peace from the Tree of Life over the earth. The stands came to life again. Everyone tried to catch the lights falling from the sky- hot coals, symbolizing, according to legend, the seeds of awakening and re-birth.

The flame of the first European Games began to die and it was surrounded by 50 children with lamps, symbolizing the 50 countries that participated in the Games. As the torch faded, one of the children lit his own lamp from it, passing the flame on to others. The children's lamps started to light one after the other and, as they got closer to the centre of the stage, they passed on the flame to the lamps of other participants. A giant candelabrum of these lamps rose into the sky as a sign of the immortality of the flame of the European Games, like the Simurgh bird.

This whole spectacle was accompanied by the music of Lanterns, arranged by Martin Rozengarten and Christian Steinhauser based on tunes from the Azerbaijani folk song "Saria Galin" [Blonde Bride]. Sirzad Fataliyev played a melody on the balaban.

The ceremony regained its old dynamism when the British group Clean Bandit and the singer John Newman performed their own super-hits. The athletes came onto the stage to join the dancers. Rivals in sport were now dancing together in a rousing disco.

Thousands of people from different ends of the continent celebrated the festival in spite of those who tried to prevent Azerbaijan hosting the first European Games.

Figuratively speaking, the firework display that brought the first European Games to a close marked a victory of the forces of good over evil, which is as it should be in all fairy tales.