Why don't the athletes march at the closing of an Olympic games?

The actual reason for the marching in the opening ceremony is based on competition, the countries march in similar to an army march demonstrating their strength and numbers to the opposition. This is why the countries are separated and there is emphasis on the flag bearer as being a top or worth athlete when they march into the stadium. Remember it is a competition and again looking to the history of the Ancient Games many of the events were conflict based: the discus, the shot-put, the javelin, running etc were all acts of war so to speak.

In modern times, particularly in the winter games, there are only a few conflict based sports (for example the biathlon) while the rest are based on sporting excellence which is fine by my standards - I rather watch a skier doing aerials than the shot-put any day!

So when the games end the competition aspect is over, the competitors are now 'friends' and are able to walk amongst each other and enjoy the milestone they have reached in their lives. The symbolism here is that the games pit the Olympians against each other but at the end of the competition there is a mutual respect for each other for reaching such a high level of competition. Which is quite nice if you think about it huh?

Hope that helps.

It has been like this for a very long time, since the Melbourne games I think. The idea is that national barriers are forgotten for just one night to celebrate a well-played Olympics.

And the cameras are nothing new, the athletes have them at the opening ceremonies as well.

I once heard some discussion about that on TV.

The presenter mentioned that by the end of the Games many teams have left for home once their own events were over.

I would expect that to be a good enough reason as smaller nations might not want the expense of keeping their athletes together. Flights home would no doubt be cheaper too if they are spread over the longer period rather than everyone wantoing to travel just after the Games.

I just watched the women's marathon and although there were a few really nice butt shots, like when the American dropped out, for the most part the whole 2 and a half hours were frontal shots of the leader and the lead pack. it has been my experience that we see what we want to see in the literally millions of blips on the screen during a two week long show. Just enjoy the show, and watch what you like and use your dinner fork to pick something to pieces.

The closing ceremonies are usually less formal than the opening. They're meant to capture the last bit of Olympic spirit and enjoy the moment as it lasts.

Yes, it always been like this since the 1950's I think. The whole purpose is end the competition between countries, to just sit back relax with their fellow olympians and enjoy the closings.

The opening ceremonies are a much more formal affair. The closing ceremonies are traditionally informal and more focused on fun than formal ceremony.

because that is the way how to respect them their nationalities,and to know all the people where they country came from...