Maccabiah closing ceremony. Photo: Tazpit News Agency

The official closing show of the Maccabiah Games on Tuesday night, July 30, was a huge success with athletes and spectators alike at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem. Thousands of athletes rocked to the tunes of Israeli bands and singers, including Balkan Beat Box, The Young Professionals, Orphaned Land, Offer Nissim, Riff Cohen, and Infected Mushroom.

It was clear that for many of the overseas athletes, who came from more than 70 countries, the Israeli songs were familiar, as athletes from across Europe, Canada, and the USA could be seen singing along with Israel’s musicians, many of whom have achieved international success.

“This is awesome,” said one Dutch athlete to another when Infected Mushrooms’ Erez Eisen and Amit Duvdevani, who are based in Los Angeles,  came on to perform their energetic trance-like beats to a clearly infected audience.

Maccabiah athletes could also be seen proudly sporting their medals as they talked and exchanged contact information with new friends during the closing show on Tuesday night.

Israel led the way at the final gold medal count, followed by the United States, Canada, Australia, and South Africa, which were the top five countries that won medals in the major sports event. The Games had 9,000 competitors from across the world.

Maccabiah closing ceremony. Photo: Tazpit News Agency.

Maccabi USA was awarded 196 medals, with even Matisyahu showering the team praise via Twitter, tweeting: “Wow! Macabbi USA bringing home 196 medals. Let’s show them some love!”

Elsewhere across the world, Jewish communities in countless countries celebrated their teams, and experienced the unique opportunity that the Maccabiah Games afford in strengthening connections within the Jewish world and Israel.