Closing ceremony: Best saved for last

It was a fitting finale for the 12-day sporting event that started with a bang on October 3. The spectacular opening ceremony had left everyone asking for more and the Games Organising Committee had promised the very best.

It was a fitting finale for the 12-day sporting event that started with a bang on October 3. The spectacular opening ceremony had left everyone asking for more and the Games Organising Committee had promised the very best.

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The promise was kept and the crowd went ecstatic.

“I could have never guessed the Commonwealth Games would turn out the way it did,” said Chitra Bannerjee, a Chittaranjan Park resident.

The packed Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium wore a festive look even before the ceremony began, the only jarring note being the booing of OC Chairman Suresh Kalmadi every time his name was announced and when he got up to address the crowd.

“Just because we have had a great Games where nothing went wrong, doesn’t mean we forget that Kalmadi and his team had brought the Games to the brink of disaster,” said a spectator, requesting anonymity.

Unlike the chaos at the opening ceremony, it was smooth sailing this time as the authorities appeared to have learnt their lessons.