Olympic visitors left in droves from the city’s airport, crews were already busy dismantling the pavilions and temporary Games structures, and the wandering crowds that had been partying for more than two weeks had all but disappeared.
An estimated 39,000 people were expected to fly out of Vancouver International Airport, where clowns and a children’s choir entertained bleary-eyed travellers on what was expected to be the facility’s busiest day ever.
The airport’s terminals were coloured by people wearing jackets and sweatshirts identifying their home countries, many of them snapping pictures with their flags as they said their final goodbyes.
“I cried a lot because I don’t want to go back, I want to stay here,” said Leticia Rodrigues, a 17-year-old heading back home to Brazil.
“The people are very friendly, and here it’s very good for living, and I love it here because of everything.”
A long line snaked from the international departures entrance past restaurants and boutiques, while dozens of volunteers handed out apple lollipops to keep the mood light.
Quatchi and Sumi, the furry Olympic mascots of the Games, were even doing their part to help out, hugging travellers and helping to push along luggage carts.
The airport had set up a remote terminal nearby to process the extra passengers, particularly the Olympic athletes returning home.
Back in Vancouver, the downtown core felt surprisingly ordinary for a part of the city that, up until a few hours earlier, had been the scene of a massive Olympic celebration where tens of thousands of people packed the streets wearing Canadian flags and screaming into the night.
Traffic began to flow on many of the streets that had been closed during the Games, and security perimeters around some venues were already coming down.
At Robson Square, which was ground zero for the nightly hullabaloo, the provincial government’s stages and tents will stay up for the Paralympics later this month, but the crowds had vanished.
“I can breathe,” sighed 23-year-old Mildreth Lozano from behind her roasted chestnut stand at Robson Square, where she worked during the Olympics.
“It’s quiet, it’s peaceful. Now I can walk and run if I want.”
Much of the revelry was fuelled by alcohol as much as Olympic spirit, and on Monday morning the distinct smell of urine still hung over Granville Street, which one newspaper columnist had labelled the “River of Vomit.”
Vancouver police officials were taking stock of the events of the past few weeks, giving themselves top marks for an international event where the major concerns turned out to be protests and crowd control.
Deputy Chief Doug LePard said confrontations with anti-Olympic protesters proved to be the most tense moments during the Games.
A large demonstration coincided with the opening ceremonies on Feb. 12, when protesters threw objects and spit at officers, although the confrontation didn’t escalate. A smaller demonstration the following day saw a group of black-clad protesters smash the windows of the Bay’s Olympic store and clash with riot police.
But LePard said the major concern for the 400 or so extra officers on duty every day — which doesn’t include thousands more that were part of the RCMP-led Integrated Security Unit — were the downtown crowds.
He said officers handed out more than 1,200 tickets for open liquor consumption and arrested more than 250 people for being drunk in public. Early liquor store closings appeared to curb the excessive drinking, he said.
On the final night of the Games, two officers were hurt while trying to break up a fight. The officers went through a plate-glass window, and one of them needed surgery.
“The biggest threat that we had was the incredible number of people compressed into a fairly small area — just the sheer number of people creates certain hazards,” he said.
Still, he said the celebrations were mostly peaceful.
“We were joking this morning about how sore our hands are from all the people that were high-fiving us,” he said.
Even though the Olympics are finished, Vancouver’s party isn’t over yet: the Paralympics begin with opening ceremonies on March 12.
The Paralympics are much smaller than the Olympics, with fewer athletes and volunteers working at fewer venues, but it will be another chance for the city to celebrate.
The Paralympic torch relay was set to begin in Ottawa on Tuesday, travelling west before kicking off 10 days of events in Vancouver and Whistler.
John Furlong, CEO of the Vancouver organizing committee, known as VANOC, said the work continues, but there are fewer people steering a much smaller ship.
“We are now a smaller organization than we were yesterday,” Furlong told reporters at Vancouver airport.
“For many of (VANOC workers), their last night was last night — a lot of tears.”
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