culminates

Culminates means reaches the highest point, climax, or final stage of development.

When a process, series of events, or effort culminates, it arrives at its most significant or decisive moment: Years of training culminated in an Olympic gold medal.

The word often implies that everything prior has been building toward this peak or conclusion.

The ceremony culminates with the lighting of the torch.

Something can culminate in triumph or disaster—the word emphasizes arrival at a climax, not the nature of the outcome.