8月29日晚，熊熊燃燒了17天的雅典奧運會圣火終于在歡樂的海洋中場漸漸熄滅。隨著富有中國特色的京劇和民歌《茉莉花》旋律在現場的響起，奧運圣火又將重新出發，前往它新的目的地——北京。外電報道如下：Fireworks and spectacular lighting kicked off the closing ceremony Sunday night, a two-hour extravaganza of folk dancing and music in the Olympic tradition that summed up the glee and relief the games brought to Greece. Afterward, thousands of athletes marched into Olympic stadium, waving their arms and flags, snapping photos of each other, hugging, and basking in the cheers of 70,000 fans. Extravaganza在此表示“鋪張華麗的表演，盛典，盛事”，此外還有“荒誕劇，滑稽劇，狂文，幻想曲”等意思，有時還會表示“豪華飾物”。
