The final word on the Vancouver Olympics? Excellent and very friendly.

As he declared the 2010 Winter Games closed, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge noted the friendly nature of the Games.

The Olympic flame went out in Vancouver on Sunday - but the Olympic spirit didn't.

In his final remarks, Rogge said the memory of a Georgian luger who died on the first day of the Games will always remain.

"We have shared the grief of an Olympic dream cut short," Rogge said. "The memory of Nodar Kumaritashvili will always be with us.

"We have shared the joy of dreams fulfilled. We have been moved by tears of elation and tears of disappointment.

"We have witnessed extraordinary acts of courage and exceptional determination by athletes who refused to give up."

He thanked Games organizers and volunteers for their warmth and their work. He then saluted the athletes, calling them worthy role models. And he paid tribute to Canada.

"Thank you to the people of Canada, for your generous hospitality, your warmth, and this unique and joyous celebration of Olympism."

Earlier in the ceremony, the Olympic flag was handed over to Sochi, Russia, the host city for the next Winter Games, in 2014.

The flag had flown over Vancouver's city hall since the close of the 2006 Games in Turin, an iconic moment where then Vancouver-mayor Sam Sullivan waved it from a special holder on his wheelchair.

Vancouver Games CEO John Furlong paid tribute to the athletes, the volunteers and the country.

"You did not just cheer," he said. "Rather, you lived every glorious moment."

And he thanked the IOC for granting Vancouver and Whistler the Games.

"It has been a great honour to host the world. Thank you for believing in our vision. We did our best. We hope you enjoyed these Games and the telling of our humble, Canadian story."

Russia gave the world a taste of what's to come with an eight-minute tribute to sport, song and dance that included the presence of hockey superstar Alex Ovechkin.

The closing ceremonies began with a light-hearted poke at a cauldron malfunction at the opening ceremonies.

There were 2,400 volunteer performers in the show, as well as several big-name Canadian acts. Neil Young performed as the Olympic flame went out.

While the opening ceremonies are a formal affair, the closing event is always a lot more relaxed.

The athletes did not march in a formal line, but came into an almost-packed B.C. Place stadium as a team.

Canadians were in Cowichan sweaters and some, like curler Kevin Martin, wore their medals around their necks.

The world may remember the 2010 Winter Olympics for the grief and glitches, but for Canada they were golden.

Not just for athletes who set a record for the number of gold medals - 14 - won at a Winter Olympics, but also for a country that approached these Olympics a little like the cauldron on the first night of the Games: not all there.

One of the four arms of the cauldron failed to rise from the floor as planned at the opening.

Producers had a little fun with the glitch in the first act of the closing ceremony, showing the structure still stuck in the floor with sparks flying out of it.

A clown emerged before the arm finally rose up, allowing original torchbearer Catriona Le May Doan to finally set it alight.

It was truly the end of the one of the most ambitious flame relays in Winter Olympic history - a 106-day, 45,000-kilometre event that would see the flame pass through 12,000 pairs of hands and in front of millions of eyes.

"The torch relay was superbly conceived and delivered and allowed a lot of people to get kind of a visceral feel for the Games," said Richard Pound, who sits on VANOC's board and is one of two Canadian members of the IOC.

"I don't think anybody in history has done something as effective as that."

While the athletes did not achieve the target of the most medals at these Games, they did set a Canadian record for most gold medals at any Olympics.

Polling suggested the number of medals, their colour or even the sports they're won in wouldn't matter to Canadians when it came to what would make these Games a success.

But polls also indicated that seeing the men's hockey team win gold - which they did Sunday - was important across the country.

While the Olympic charter says the Games are about athletes, not nationalism, that can't be said about hockey.

Tony Sam, 41, drove in from Chilliwack, about an hour's drive from Vancouver, with friends to watch Team Canada get the gold.

"Before this, Canada only seemed patriotic when there was a beer commercial on TV," he said.

"This is the most exciting thing that's happened in Canada, maybe, ever."