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 As the Vancouver Olympics come to a close, the focus turns across the world to Russia's first Winter Games in 2014 — taking the Olympic movement to a new territory and a new set of challenges. The Flag Handover to Sochi as the host city of the next Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games took place on Sunday.

With hundreds of millions of people watching worldwide, Sochi 2014 presented an eight-minute showcase of sport, culture and innovation, representing modern Russia, as part of the Vancouver 2010 Closing Ceremony.

At the end of the ceremony, the crowd simultaneously held up red, white and blue twinkling snow globes, representing the Russian colours, and demonstrating Sochi 2014’s intention to involve people from all cultures and backgrounds.

Moments before the show, IOC President Rogge, handed the Mayor of Sochi, Anatoly Pakhomov the Olympic Flag in front of a capacity crowd and thousands of winter sports athletes from around the world. This officially marked the moment when Sochi became the Host City for the next Olympic Winter Games.