With the closing ceremony at the Stade de France, the Olympics in Paris are officially over. Meanwhile, the next host, LA, is giving a taste of 2028.
At the closing ceremony of the Games, a group of acrobats assemble the Olympic rings, which then tower over the Stade de France.
And then the fire is out. The French swimmer Léon Marchand carries it to the Stade de France at the end of the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games, where it is blown out by a group of athletes from every continent in the world. All it takes is a breath of wind.
The Olympic flame, which has spread across France over the past two weeks, is no longer burning. The closing ceremony on Sunday evening officially marked the end of the games in Paris. After the huge exercise that was the opening ceremony on the Seine two weeks ago, this celebration was almost a piece of cake: 80,000 people watched the sold-out event live in the stadium, and more than 300,000 came to the Seine. Instead of walking on boats, the athletes took a very down-to-earth approach and walked into the stadium, where they watched the last medal ceremony – the awarding of the marathon runners.
No tension, only melancholy
The weather was also much better, with 32 degrees in Paris during the day. No one needed protection from the rain that evening. Despite the smaller size of the event, a good 30,000 police officers were deployed in the greater Paris area to ensure security. But the tension that had been in the air before the opening ceremony was nowhere to be felt.
30,000 police officers ensure security during the closing ceremony in the greater Paris area.
Instead, there was a sense of melancholy among the people who watched the broadcast of the ceremony in the bistros and sang along to the songs that were played as the athletes came in. Like the opening ceremony, the closing ceremony was staged by director Thomas Jolly. Two weeks ago, Jolly had caused some controversy, for example with the appearance of drag queens and with a production with singers who portrayed the beheaded Marie Antoinette.
In comparison, the closing ceremony seemed tame. Its motto was “Records” and Jolly had promised beforehand “a journey into the past, to the origins of the games and into a timeless universe”.
History and modernity united
The origins of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece were staged with spectacular acrobatic performances, light show elements and a piano concerto – including fireworks and the Greek national anthem. The task of building a bridge to the modern era fell to the French indie band Phoenix. It was a successful break.
Pianist Alain Roche plays the Hymn of Apollo on a vertically floating piano.
A character from the video game “Assassin’s Creed” waves the Greek flag to commemorate the origins of the Olympic Games.
But the closing ceremony should not only highlight the history of the Games, but also build a bridge between Paris and Los Angeles, where the next Summer Olympics will take place in 2028.
Thomas Jolly also staged this with typical French pathos: Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo ceremoniously handed over the Olympic flag to her counterpart Karen Bass from Los Angeles. It was the first time that the flag was handed over from woman to woman. Afterwards, Californian R&B singer HER sang the American national anthem.
The French indie band Phoenix plays in front of 80,000 spectators at the Stade de France.
The athletes, who are below the stage, celebrate with the band and their singer Thomas Mars.
LA shows what it has to offer
Los Angeles also had the opportunity to showcase itself as a future host. The first to do so was action star Tom Cruise, who abseiled from the roof of the Stade de France in “Mission Impossible” style and landed right in the middle of the athletes. He quickly packed the Olympic flag onto his motorcycle and rode out of the stadium.
In a recorded video broadcast, the audience was able to watch Cruise jump out of a plane and hand the flag to American cyclist Kate Courtney. Finally, he posed under the iconic Hollywood sign, with the two O’s replaced by Olympic rings.
American film star Tom Cruise floats into the Stade de France.
Tom Cruise grabs the Olympic flag and races out of the stadium on a motorcycle.
The event continued with concerts by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the singer Billie Eilish, recorded beforehand on Venice Beach. And of course the rapper Snoop Dogg, who became a kind of unofficial mascot for the games in Paris, was there too. In the past two weeks, Snoop Dogg attended numerous competitions that he hosted for the American television station NBC – and clearly had a lot of fun. On Sunday evening he was seen on Venice Beach with Dr. Dre.
LA has already shown that it has a lot to offer, at least musically. But for everyone who has followed these games, it is clear that the Hollywood city will have gigantic shoes to fill in four years. The competitions in Paris were unique in many ways, if only because of the spectacular venues in the heart of the French capital.
“All of France became Olympic”
“Together we experienced games like no one has ever seen before,” said Tony Estanguet, chairman of the organizing committee. “All of France became an Olympic participant.” The organizers can be satisfied with themselves, as can the athletes. The latter won a record 64 medals for their country, and France finished the Olympic Games in fifth place.
At the end of the closing ceremony, Los Angeles handed the baton back to Paris. Singer Yseult sang the Sinatra hit “I did it my way” with such fervor that you could almost hear the pride of all French people.
Fortunately, the Olympics in Paris are not quite over yet: the Paralympic Games will begin in the French capital on August 28th. These will also have an opening and closing ceremony, which will be staged by Thomas Jolly. So it will be exciting.
Athletes pose for a selfie during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics at the Stade de France.