WINTER GAMES '94: Lillehammer

Medals · Closing ceremonies They were declared the ''Magic Games,'' and few would disagree. Trolls and sprites from Norway's folklore, and skiers and skaters from across the world took one last curtain call in the Lillehammer snow as the Olympics came to a dazzling end at closing ceremonies last night. Fireworks burst over the illuminated ski jumps, torches lit up the hillsides, and 40,000 spectators held aloft a twinkling sea of tiny flashlights, compensating for the snuffing out of the Olympic flame. Juan Antonio Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee, called the people of Norway ''the real winners of these magic Games.'' The crowd cheered lustily at Samaranch's praise, then booed when he pronounced the Games over. The Norwegians sang one last impromptu round of ''Victory Is Ours,'' the chant with which they feted their parade of medalists during the 16 days of competition. The ceremonies ended with a portrayal of Norwegian tales of good prevailing over evil. There were video clips of the Games' most memorable moments, a look ahead to 1998 and a remembrance of Sarajevo -- the war-ravaged host of the 1984 Winter Games. Gold medal winners mingled with also-rans as the athletes streamed informally into the arena, snapping photographs, waving to friends. Some danced with the children who formed Olympic rings on the ski jump hill, then danced with organizers who tried to usher them away. The U.S. flag bearer was Dan Jansen, still savoring the gold medal he won here after failures in three previous Olympics. The program opened with video highlights featuring medalists including Jansen, Bonnie Blair, Oksana Baiul, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean. As in the opening ceremonies on Feb. 12, the festiveness was muted briefly when Samaranch evoked the sufferings of Sarajevo. He visited the Bosnian capital during the first week of the Games, just as prospects for an end to its siege were brightening. Pocket flashlights issued to the spectators bore the inscription ''Remember Sarajevo'' In the end, attention shifted to the next Winter Games host -- Nagano, Japan. The arena darkened, except for the pinpoints of lights held by the spectators, and a Japanese snow queen entered to the strains of a Japanese folk song. The ceremonies marked the launch of an environmental expedition that will travel to Nagano during the next 18 months. The group will use no mechanical help in their 10,000-mile trek, traveling on skis, sailboats and four sleds which were pulled into the arena Sunday night by 40 dogs. The masters of ceremonies, as at the opening, were actress Liv Ullmann and explorer Thor Heyerdahl, known for his voyage across the Pacific aboard the raft Kon-Tiki. The Olympic flame, which for 16 days had blazed on a hillside above Lillehammer, was then extinguished.