The Olympic flame went out on the Salt Lake City Winter Games Sunday night in a ceremony that saw KISS rock, Willie Nelson croon, Kurt Browning skate and two dinosaurs look for Wayne Gretzky in the crowd.

It was a eclectic ceremony that ranged from the brilliant to the bizarre, and in some ways was fitting for an Olympic Games born in a bribery scandal and hosted under a terrorist threat.

"People of America, Utah and Salt Lake City, you have given the world superb Games," said Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee.

"You have reassured us that people from all countries can live peacefully together."

Rogge encouraged the 2,300 athletes from the 77 nations competing at the Games to take the Olympic spirit home with them.

"Athletes ... keep this flame alight," he said.

"Promote the Olympic dream in your countries. You are the true ambassadors of the Olympic values."

Moments later the Olympic flame was extinguished, ending a Games where bickering and Cold War rhetoric couldn't overshadow athletic achievement.

A clear, cool Utah night was lit up by performances by Christina Aguilera, wearing a revealing outfit that must have left her shivering, Moby and Bon Jovi, who wrapped himself in an American flag.

Fireworks streaked across the sky as athletes boogied to the beat and a few tears were shed by volunteers and spectators.

The ceremonies, with U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney among the crowd of 55,000, had some eye-popping special effects and head-scratching segments.

Nelson, a cowboy hat on his head and scarf wrapped around his neck, sang Bridge Over Troubled Waters.

Two 25-metre mechanical dinosaurs acted as hosts. At one point, the male said he saw The Great One in the crowd.

"Barney?" asked the female.

"No, Wayne Gretzky," said the male.

The voices behind the dinosaurs later turned to be Donnie and Marie Osmond.

It wasn't clear whether Gretzky was actually at the ceremony or out celebrating Canada first men's hockey gold in 50 years following a 5-2 defeat of the U.S. earlier in the day.

In a surreal moment, KISS played Rock and Roll All Nite while former Olympic champions Kristi Yamaguchi and Katarina Witt skating. Browning, a four-time world champion, skated to a jazz number by Dianne Reeves.

There was a salute to Italian fashion and a children's choir sang Happy Trails To You.

Mayor Rocky Anderson passed the Olympic flag to Rogge, who in turned passed it to Sergio Chiamparino, mayor of Turin, Italy, host of the 2006 Games.

Canadian athletes marched in dressed in black jackets and red pants, many waving flags, while others posed for photos.

Figure skaters Jamie Sal(C) and David Pelletier, who had shown class and dignity amidst a figure skating judging scandal that dominated the first week of the competition, were the Canadian flag-bearers.

Pelletier carried the flag, while Sal(C), Maple Leafs tattooed on her cheeks, waved to the crowd.

Both the Russians and South Koreans, who threatened to boycott the ceremony over a string of decisions that had gone against them, showed up.

Other memorable Olympic images were Canadian speed skater Catriona Le May Doan wearing husband Bart's black cowboy hat during her victory lap and American Jim Shea pulling the picture of his recently deceased grandfather out of his helmet moments after winning the skeleton gold.

While Canada came away from the Games with a record 17 medals, more than any other Winter Olympics, several athletes failed to perform to their expectations. Canada finished fourth in the overall medal count, missing the Canadian Olympic Association's goal of finishing third overall.

"We set a goal we knew was going to be difficult to achieve," COA president Mike Chambers said Sunday.

"For too many years we have been setting conservative goals for ourselves. I think we have to be a little bit more aggressive."

And while the United States celebrated its largest medal haul ever at a Winter Olympics, the stone-faced soldiers at every venue and $300-million (U.S.) spent on security measures were a constant reminder these Games were held in a country battling enemies abroad.

The awarding of duplicate gold medals to Sal(C) and Pelletier sowed the seeds of discontent among the Russian team. They later germinated into anger over what Russian officials called "disgusting and malicious" judging.

The Russians threatened to withdraw from the Games and suggested they might even boycott the 2004 Summer Olympics.

South Korea, infuriated its short-track speed skater was disqualified, giving a gold medal to American Apolo Ohno, threatened to file legal action and considered boycotting the closing ceremonies. Ohno was flooded with threatening e-mails and spent the rest of the Games accompanied by a bodyguard.

These Olympics had been called the Bribery Games, for the million-dollar incentives dangled before IOC members who decided Salt Lake was the best host. Then, after the World Trade Center came crashing to the ground, there were fears the Games couldn't be safe.

In the end, everything operated smoothly. The buses ran on time, getting both fans and media to events. At night, Salt Lake City's streets pulsed with people and the music from live concerts.

"All the behind-the-scenes logistics were perfectly executed so our athletes and coaches could do their jobs," said Canadian chef de mission Sally Rehorick.

The angry words of the politicians were lost in the laughter of the fans.

The shrill squawk of metal detectors was quickly drowned out by the ka-ching of the cash registers at the Roots store where people from all countries lined up around the block to buy Canadian and U.S. hats, coats and sweaters.

While humanity might not have been unified by these Games, at least one fan at a hockey game was able to put the Olympics in perspective.

"Isn't that where people from all over the world come together to drink beer?" asked Matt Stais, of Breckenridge, Colo.