The 2018 Winter Para-Olympics: Closing Ceremony.

On Sunday (18/3/18) the 2018 Winter Para-Olympic games drew to a close in PyeongChang in the Republic of Korea (RoK).

Events ended with the traditional Closing Ceremony.

I should begin with an apology. I found myself talking/tweeting over the first hour of the Closing Ceremony.

The reason for this is that I actually organised my entire day around the Closing Ceremony.

However I organised it around the 13:00 (GMT) start time advertised by the UK broadcaster Channel 4.

I have to say when I saw this start time advertised in multiple publications it seemed a little odd. It was two hours later than the start times of all the other ceremonies so far in the winter games.

The time difference meant that a 13:00 GMT start time translated into a start time of 22:00 in the RoK. Meaning that the ceremony was unlikely to end before 00:00 on Monday (19/3/18) morning.

That is late. Although not what I would consider excessively late for what is a once in a generation event.

A 13:00 (GMT) start time would also have translated into a 09:00 start time on the US east coast and a 06:00 start time on the west coast.

That's a good time to pick up viewers who might be interested in watching. But not interested enough to get up before dawn on a Sunday to watch.

Within the US the Para-Olympics have been broadcast by the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). They have been steadily increasing their Para-Olympic coverage since the 2014 Winter Para-Olympics.

Like all Americans NBC also have a reputation for throwing their weight around.

At the 2016 Summer Olympics NBC demanded that the Brazilian hosts used the English alphabet rather than their native Portuguese alphabet during the Parade of Nations. Specifically so the US team would enter the stadium during US primetime.

In 2016 NBC failed in that effort. However due the far smaller number of Para-Olympic broadcasters it is reasonable to assume they could have used their influence to change the start time of the Closing Ceremony.

Rather than working all that out though I should probably have used the time to check with wither the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) or the South Korean hosts.

The Closing Ceremony began as all other ceremonies have done at 11:00 (GMT).

The version that Channel 4 were falsely advertising was a recording. It was also an edited recording.

As a result I am not sure if I have even seen the entire ceremony. I will have to check against an online version if the opportunity arises.

In the meantime I think it's best I start with the bits I have definitely seen.

If challenged as to why they were behaving like this Channel 4 will probably claim that it was to promote the IPC's own online streaming platform.

If pushed further Channel 4 would likely raise the cost issue.

By not showing the Closing Ceremony Channel 4 were able to air a popular Sunday morning magazine show; "Sunday Brunch" as usual. That includes the commercials they usually sell during that show.

Channel 4 would argue they needed to air these commercials in order to pay the IPC for the rights to broadcast the games.

The introduction of the IPC's own online streaming platform and in particular the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) online streaming platform has caused some tension with traditional broadcasters.

At the same time the IPC and IOC are using these streaming platforms to compete with the traditional broadcasters they are demanding those broadcasters pay more for the rights to the games.

I think it is worth reminding both the IOC and particularly the IPC that there are benefits to keeping the games widely available on free-to-air TV. Both events are really made up of the sports you wouldn't normally watch.

Take for example the sport of Curling. Particularly in Scotland this is an established sport in the UK where I live. However if you were to pitch me the idea of Curling on paper there's no way I would watch it. I certainly wouldn't pay a subscription for the privilege of watching.

However the only sport I've been able to watch during these Para-Olympics have been two Curling matches. I found myself getting sucked into them simply because they were on TV. I might even be tempted to try my hand at it now.

If the Olympics and Para-Olympics are hidden away behind Pay-TV services it will lose this ability to attract viewers who stumble onto sports they wouldn't normally watch. That goes against the IOC and IPC's ethos of introducing people to new sports and encouraging them to give those sports a try.

No matter how hard you push them there is another simple fact that Channel 4 will never admit to.

The UK was the founder of the Para-Olympic movement with the first games held in Stoke-Manderville in 1948. At the 1988 Summer games it was the RoK who put the Olympics and Para-Olympics on an equal footing holding the games one after the other for the first time.

In it's jealously the UK certainly isn't above using sabotage to spoil its rival's big moment.

Plus over the summer of 2017 Channel 4 did a controversial drama about the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) called; "The State." In response I commented;

"This is what Channel 4 are like. They just do it for attention."

The Countdown:

The Olympics are a massive global event. The Opening and Closing ceremonies are broadcast live by many broadcasters in most nations on Earth. This means that extra efforts have to be made so all these different broadcasters can calibrate and synchronise their coverage. 

The main way in which this is done is through a video countdown.

A short video sequence counts down the seconds with numerals showing 10 to 1. This allows continuity editors to know exactly how long they've got before they need to switch from the studio feed to the arena feed.

However as broadcast technology has improved the job of continuity editor has almost completely disappeared. It has been replaced almost entirely by computerised systems.

As a result this video countdown has become less and less important to the broadcast.

It has always been almost entirely irrelevant at the Para-Olympics. That is because there are far fewer broadcasters showing events live.

Here even Britain's Channel 4 who consider themselves something of a Patron Saint of Para-Olympic sport weren't showing the Closing Ceremony live.


It is though a tradition. So many host nation's have taken to having some fun with the idea and making the countdown sequence part of the ceremony itself.

Here the South Koreans really had fun with the idea. Initially they appeared to have scrapped the idea of a video countdown entirely.

Proceedings began with Bandabi- the Bear mascot of the games - dancing around on stage. He was soon joined by what seemed to be the entire Bandabi family.

So there were Bandabis wearing traditional Korean male and female dress. Representing his parents or grandparents. There were also lots of what appeared to be Bandabi's siblings and cousins.

As they danced the Bandabi family introduced us to the stage which had been constructed across the circular arena floor. This remained in place throughout the ceremony.

The stage was built around a central circular platform. From that centre circle you had gangways radiating off to other smaller stages.

This seemed to resemble the internationally recognised symbol for Chemical Weapons.

That is a black circle on either a yellow or red background. The centre circle is linked to three other circles. These circles represent chemical molecules and the linkages represent the chemical bonds between molecules.

The big talking point of these games has been the poisoning of Sergei Skripal - a Russian agent of Britain's foreign intelligence agency MI6 - in the British city of Salisbury.

This took place on March 4th (4/3/18) - five days before the Opening Ceremony on March 9th (9/3/18).

In carrying out the poisoning the UK was attempting to dominate discussion at a Para-Olympics hosted by its great rival the RoK. As I've mentioned the Skripal case touches on a wide variety of issues.

For example the way that Chemical Warfare agents are legislated for internationally is similar to the way the UK legislates for synthetic recreational drugs known as; "Legal Highs." Many of these are produced by 2022 Winter games host China.

The Para-Olympics coincided with the 61st session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (UNCND) held in Vienna, Austria between March 12th (12/3/18) and March 16th (16/3/18). The issue of Chinese produced synthetics - particularly Opioids - was the main item on the agenda.

The Para-Olympics also coincided with a special summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) held in Sydney, Australia on March 17th (17/3/18) and March 18th (18/3/18). The main drug problem facing the host and UK Commonwealth Realm member is Chinese synthetics. Particularly Methamphetamine.

During the 2018 Winter Olympics there was a lot of interest in the mostly Asian, always hungry American actress Chloe Bennet. Particularly through her Korean-American namesake Chloe Kim. Chloe Bennet is famous for her role in the US TV Show; "Marvels Agents of Shield."

There is a spin-off show to Agents of Shield called; "Agent Carter." The lead role in that show is taken by the British actress Hayley Atwell.

Hayley Atwell's big TV debut came in the pan-European show; "Pillars of the Earth." Her role is a famous case study in the constant debate over nudity in TV.

Essentially in a show with a lot of nudity great efforts in terms of editing etc were made so that Hayley Atwell never appeared nude. Right up until the very final episode when the prank the director had been playing on his audience was revealed.

Pillars of the Earth is loosely based around the building of Salisbury's famous Cathedral. Hayley Atwell's character becomes a wool merchant.

The "Bishop's Mill" pub at the centre of the Skripal case is a re-purposed wool mill owned by the Bishop of Salisbury. It is here that Hayley Atwell sold her wool in Pillars of the Earth.

Despite setting this elaborate talking point the UK then suffered some sort of mental breakdown on March 12th (12/3/18). They abandoned their plan and instead started making hostile allegations against Russia.

The UK's inability to stick to its own script caused utter chaos at the games.

For me it meant the difference between finishing my coverage of the Opening Ceremony on Tuesday (13/3/18) and Thursday (15/3/18). That meant I was only able to watch just two of the sporting events;

The Wheelchair Curling match between the UK and Germany and the Wheelchair Curling Bronze medal match between the RoK and Canada.

It was the Gold medal match in Wheelchair Curling that was the interesting one. This saw China defeat Norway to win their first ever Winter Para-Olympic Gold in any event.

In part this was an international endorsement of China in the Skripal case. They have charitably volunteered to lead the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) investigation. Getting the UK back on script.

So it seems China is happy for action to be taken on synthetics. Even if the UK is only interested in ranting and raving about Russia.

I personally think China has been overly charitable. The OPCW investigation should pull no punches.

Obviously the stage wasn't an exact representation of the Chemical Weapons symbol. Staring at that for two hours would have been extremely awkward.

The main difference was that the satellite stages were rectangle in shape rather than circular. There were also five of them rather than three.

Their rectangular shape along with the Para-Olympics; "Agitos" blade logo invoked the internationally recognised symbol for Biological Weapons. This is hard to describe but it essentially three interconnected circular talons or blades.

The way that the stages radiated out from each other invoked the concept of radiation and Nuclear Weapons.

So the stage represented Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) weapons.

Do I need to remind you of the US broadcaster which has been stepping up its Para-Olympic coverage significantly over the past four years?

The multiple dimensions of the stage also seemed to hint at the concept of a Multi-Dimensional Universe of; "Multiverse." This posits multiple universes or dimensions beyond the human dimension in which we exist.

This idea was first suggested by in 1704 British Physicist Isaac Newton who was referenced in the Para-Olympic Opening Ceremony. Much of the work in the area has been done by Austrian Physicist Erwin Schodinger using his famous; "Schrodinger's Cat" thought experiment.

A more contemporary proponent was British Physicist and 2012 Summer Para-Olympic Opening Ceremony narrator Stephen Hawking. Who died during the 2018 Para-Olympics.

It is testament to Hawking's wit that in discussing the Multiverse with a TV comedian he was asked if there was a universe where the comedian was more intelligent of the two. Hawking replied;

"Yes. And there's also one in which you're funny."

The concept of multiple dimensions is a common one in religion and mythology. Particularly traditional Korean Animist ones.

The Olympic ceremonies feature the Fenghuang. A mythical bird which uses the sun to transfer between dimensions or universes.

Even the Abrahamic religions feature the human dimension and God's dimension - heaven. The Para-Olympic Opening Ceremony touched on the Blind Angel Samael and the concept of a multidimensional heaven.

Eventually the Bandabi family danced their way onto the stage's centre platform.

It was at this point the countdown began. English numerals were projected onto the centre platform. As the numbers counted down the hands of an analogue clock spun around marking each second.

The; "Time Dilation" sequence from the Olympic Closing Ceremony made reference to the Doomsday Clock. This was established by the Atomic Scientists Society in 1947 to warn of the danger of global nuclear war. The closer the minute hand is to midnight the closer we are to total destruction.

In going wildly off script in the Skripal case UK Prime Minister Theresa May set a deadline of midnight of March 14th (14/3/18) for Russia to respond. This deadline was 09:00 in the RoK where the day's Para-Olympic events were just getting underway.

With Prime Minister May becoming an international laughing stock it was all too easy to joke that at the midnight deadline the UK would remove BBC Radio 4 from air. This is a long recognised signal for the UK's nuclear armed submarines to launch their missiles at Russia.

As the hands of the clock spun around the circle the Bandabis had to jump them. Rather like a skipping rope.

Unfortunately the Bandabi at roughly 4 'oclock mis-timed their jump. This was the Bandabi mother figure wearing the skirt. She appeared to trip on the hands of the clock and fell over. Apparently unable to get up.

In 2016 the US popstar Katy Perry performed the Super Bowl halftime show. For a portion of the performance she was joined by two dancers in Shark costumes. One to her left and one to her right.

The performer known as; "Left Shark" completely forgot the dance routine. Instead making up its own seemingly completely random moves. Left Shark instantly became a hugely famous Internet meme.

The South Koreans seemed to hope that 4 o'clock Bandabi would reach similar levels of Internet fame. If only they're been people watching the Closing Ceremony.

Also I think it's fair to assume that the correct way to address UK Prime Minister May from now on is; "The 4 o'clock skirt." 

When the countdown had reached zero light radiated from the stage up the ramp to where the Cauldron stood. This triggered fireworks.

If you looked closely you could see 4 o'clock Bandabi picking themselves up again. As there were to do at any point.

This seemed to be a reference to an incident in the torch relay sequence of the Opening Ceremony to the 2016 Summer Para-Olympics.

While carrying the torch Marcia Malsar fell over. Suffering from Cerebral Palsy she had won Silver and Gold at the 1984 Para-Olympics. Those were the last truly Parallel Olympics. In was at the 1988 Summer games the RoK united the two Olympic strands.

The talking point Marcia Malsar's fall provided us with is how do you react when a disabled person does something embarrassing like falling over?

Generally what a lot of disabled people complain about though is people fussing over them. That is to say when they fall over everyone rushes towards them with tears in their eyes and tries wrapping them in a cotton wool blanket before urgently calling an ambulance to take them to hospital.

After all if you've got an impairment that causes balance problems you may well fall over a couple of times a day. Therefore you get very good at landing without injuring yourself and getting yourself back up again.

So the general rule is that if someone - disabled or otherwise - falls over right by you simply politely and calmly ask if they need your help.

It also posed a question about the US Democrat Party Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton. It is widely believed she suffers from a neurological condition causing what are known as; "Transient Ischemic Attacks (TIA)." It is these mini-strokes which cause her to fall frequently.

During the 2018 Para-Olympics Hillary Clinton has been visiting India. She has fallen at least twice including one occasion where she fractured her wrist.

In 2012 the South Korean equivalent of the FBI - the NIS - invented claims of foreign interference to rig the election in favour of the female candidate Park Guen-hye.

In 2016 US Democrats copied the South Koreans by enlisting the FBI to rig the election in favour of the female candidate Hillary Clinton. By inventing claims of foreign interference.

At least the NIS chose a female candidate who was actually medically fit to become President.

17:45 on 19/3/18 (UK date).