Hanyu Yuzuru and mascot Bing Dwen Dwen let loose at Beijng 2022 Figure Skating Gala

When star Japanese figure skater Hanyu Yuzuru welcomed Beijing 2022 mascot Bing Dwen Dwen onto the ice at the Figure Skating Gala on Sunday (20 February) not even the coldest of hearts were safe from melting.

The closing gala is a tradition that offers skaters one last chance to flex their talent, creativity, and personalities on the ice before bidding their final farewells.

Skaters wear what they like and perform with complete freedom in a show that is all about celebrating the discipline and the athletes that practise it.

In a moment that will surely go down in Olympic folklore for its cuteness, Yuzuru and Bing Dwen Dwen - two icons of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics - hugged it out on the ice as the finale concluded.

The joyful scene was the latest instalment in the developing relationship between the Olympic ambassador and the figure skater in the Chinese Capital.

Bing Dwen Dwen had earlier been spotted trying to perform a quadruple Axel - the same complex figure skating move Yuzuru tried to successfully land during the men's competition.

Since the very first day of the games the mascot of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics has had the world gripped in a kind of panda-monium.

The ice-suit wearing panda, whose name in Mandarin denotes purity and strength, has been an instant hit among athletes and spectators alike, so much so fans have been buying replicas on the toy panda cub in their droves.

Just three days into the Games sales of Bing Dwen Dwen had to be limited to one per person.

MORE: Hanyu Yuzuru closes chapter on Beijing - and maybe more

Yuzuru’s big bear hug with Bing Dwen Dwen wasn’t the only interaction the two shared.

Shortly after the two-time Olympic champion set the mascot bumbling on his way, Bing Dwen Dwen