By Nick McCarvel
Picture by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
From its very start on a memorable evening on the Seine River to its spectacular finish inside the iconic Stade de France, these Olympic Games Paris 2024 were like nothing we've ever seen before.
Or felt.
Sunday evening's (11 August) Closing Ceremony marked the end of a return to the City of Light for the first time in 100 years, a glittering farewell steeped in layers of French culture - and an official handover to LA 2028.
Newly-minted French icon Leon Marchand, who won four golds in the pool this Games, opened the ceremony under the Olympic cauldron before some 9,000 athletes paraded into the Stade de France, with a programme harkening back to the creation of the modern Games, by Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin.
IOC President Thomas Bach praised the athletes’ performances for “sparking excitement” around the world, but also nodded to a pivot in the Olympic movement – to “a new era.”
“The Olympic Games Paris 2024 were a celebration of the athletes and sport at its best,” Bach said during his speech. “The first Olympic Games delivered fully under our Olympic Agenda reforms: younger, more urban, more inclusive, more sustainable. The first Olympic Games with full gender parity.”
He added, speaking directly to the athletes: "You showed us what greatness we humans are capable of. Thank you for making us dream."
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Paris 2024 Closing Ceremony: Athletes and artists star in stellar show
The Closing Ceremony’s artistic director Thomas Jolly filled the ceremony with notes of French culture that also looked ahead to the future, featuring sensational lighting effects, repelling acrobats, dancers, actors – and a global cast of renowned singers.
Some 206 national delegations took part in the ceremony, in front of over 70,000 fans inside Stade de France, which featured as an electric venue this Games for the rugby competition before hosting 10 days of memorable athletics.
It lit up for the Closing Ceremony like never before, with the Olympic rings hoisted from a stage shaped by the five continents around the globe, glowing high above the stadium floor. It was a crowning moment, capped off by a chilling display of fireworks along the roof of the Stade.
A host of recognisable faces served as flag-bearers for their respective nations during the opening portion's parade of athletes, perhaps none as notable as French rugby super hero Antoine Dupont, alongside fellow gold-medal winning mountain biker Pauline Ferrand-Prevot.
Katie Ledecky (USA), Kaylee McKeown (AUS) and Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA) meant swimming was well represented among the flag-bearing contingent.
As the athletes covered the Stade de France floor, some of the 45,000 volunteers of the Games were applauded for their generosity and spirit during the Games.
Jolly's performance section, titled "Records" saw a spectacular display of a wide array of artwork, including French pianist and opera singer Benjamin Bernheim singing the Hymn to Apollo, while Alain Roche played on a piano - being suspended vertically in the air.
The Olympic rings rose high above the venue then, lit in glistening gold, the fifth and final ring rising to join the other four, which had rested on the global map-shaped stage before taking their place.
Handover to LA 2028... and a surprise Tom Cruise cameo!
While the evening marked a celebration of a Paris 2024 Games that were full of raucous crowds and iconic Parisian venues, it also served as the official hand-over to LA 2028.
In true Hollywood style, LA took the reigns with celebrity starpower, including a surprise appearance by gymnastics superstar Simone Biles, who was handed the Olympic flag along with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
That happened as musical superstar H.E.R. sang the American national anthem, cueing the surprise of the night: Tom Cruise!
Jumping from the roof of the Stade de France to land amidst a sea of Olympic athletes to high-five him, Cruise hopped onto a motorcycle and rode out of the stadium, prompting a video montage that took him through the streets of Paris - and then to LA.
It was there that the famous "Hollywood" sign was emblazoned with the Olympic rings, and American athletes - mountain biker Kate Courtney and skateboarder Jagger Eaton - put on their own show in a visually stunning Paris-to-LA video presentation, too, with legendary athletics champion Michael Johnson joining them.
Singer Billie Eilish and rapper-turned-Olympic superfan Snoop Dogg perfoming on the video.
A Games closed: "That's how we did it"
As is customary, the Closing Ceremony concluded with the extinguishing of the Olympic Flame.
Marchand, who had began the ceremony by carrying a lantern from the cauldron, arrived into Stade de France cheered on by the French crowd.
In true theatric fashion, an encore closed the programme: French recording artist Yseult bringing chills to Stade de France and around the world with her performance of My Way, an iconic hit that carries a strong link between France and the U.S.
Her final message? One of confidence and joy: "Voilà, nous l'avons fait comme ça" which translate to, "That's how we did it.”
The Paris 2024 were a games wide open – now closed.
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