The magical closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics was directed by the SWISS-ITALIAN Daniele Finzi Pasca.

Both the BBC and the LATimes misidentified Mr. Pasca as Italian. The man the Russians chose to give a “fresh look” to the ceremony comes from tiny Ticino.

(all photos are from the Compagnia Finzi Pasca website)
He also will be creating and directing the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympics in Sochi.

Daniele Finzi Pasca is an extremely well-regarded theater director; he founded the Teatro Sunil in the early ’80s, together with his brother Marco and Maria Bonzanigo, calling their theater technique “theatre of the caress”. Pasca’s ‘Icaro’has been translated into six languages and performed hundreds of times all over the world. In 2005, he wrote and directed the Cirque du Soleil’s show ‘Corteo”, which apparently has been seen by more than 3 million people. His Compagnia Finzi Pasca has put on a variety of theater and opera productions, and his first movie, ‘Piazza San Michele’ is in the works. All of his productions are known for their artistic excellence: when I think of them I think of whimsy and soaring creativity. I am fascinated by the Swiss who make their way into the world, and in Mr. Pasca’s case, quite literally play on the world stage.