Follow minute by minute the long-awaited closing of the 2024 Olympic Games

After two weeks of diverse sporting events that showcased the best of the best in the sporting world, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games concluded with high expectations, as the event as such was unique and will only remain in the memory and hearts of sport lovers for a long time. The U.S. delegation was crowned as the best in the world with 126 medals, 40 gold, 44 silver and 42 bronze, which will go down in history as the most competitive against other countries.

Closing of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Remembering the opening

Before the closing ceremony began, the Parisians decided to remember the glittering and glamorous opening of the Olympic Games with a montage showing an aerial shot of the entire City of Light, along with images of the opening.

Farewell to the cauldron in the air

To start the closing, the Parisians decided to show a musical number in the place where the cauldron is located. At the finish, France's swimming star, Leon Marchand was charged with carrying a small flame from what was one of the most iconic cauldrons in the history of the modern Olympic Games. As soon as he took it in his hands, the emblematic balloon extinguished its flames, leaving only a small stele in a medieval golden lamp, which was carried by the merchant of dreams to the Stade de France.

Arrival at Stade de France

The broadcast arrived at the Stade de France, where the most important personalities of the government, President Macron and the President of the Olympic Committee were shown, and then gave way to an orchestra that sang the Marseillaise to honor the French flag.

In the center of the stadium was a silver stage with a replica of the gold medal. At the end of the anthem, the flag bearers of the 205 countries that participated in the Olympic Games came on stage and took their places, as many of the athletes were already back home.

It was also a way to thank the thousands of volunteers who came to support the Olympic Games. With a beautiful sunrise that seemed painted for the occasion, each of the delegations paraded to say goodbye to Paris.

The Stade de France was full, as there was not a single empty seat in the stands, which also showed the multicultural nature of the Olympic Games. Fans did not hesitate to support the athletes who paraded behind the flags, excitedly taking pictures with their cell phones and waving to everyone. To bid farewell to the athletes, the french played a song for everyone to sing in the stadium, and this was also experienced at each of the competitions.

Marathon medal ceremony

The last medal ceremony was held live during the closing ceremony, where the athletes of the women's marathon were awarded in the morning of Sunday, August 11. The bronze medal went to Hellen Obiri from Kenya, the silver medal to Tigst Assefa from Ethiopia and the gold medal to Sifan Hassan from the Netherlands, who was obasionated by the entire audience. The President of the Olympic Committee was in charge of presenting the medals.

At the end of the award ceremony, a montage of the marathon was shown, where everything that was experienced in Paris with the culture and the atmosphere that the fans imposed during the route. But when they returned to the stadium, the volunteers were welcomed, so that they too could have their moment of glory.

Paris says goodbye to the Olympic Games

As night fell, the stadium became a darkened theater, where the stage in the shape of each of the continents began to play with lights. It should be remembered that the closing was also conceived by the mastermind behind the opening, Thomas Jolly.

To continue with the metallic-suited travelers, a golden character arrived who will take everyone on a journey through time, who arrived on an empty continent, long before humanity began. 

As in the opening ceremony, Joan of Arc arrived with the masked man, who met with the new character to place the flag of Greece, the country where the Olympic Games were born. This to give closure to the story that began last July 26th in the Seine River, where these two characters took everyone on a tour around Paris. 

While the two masked men were living together, the giant medal disappeared, leaving only the golden character on the stage. A statue of the victory of Samothrace emerged from the stage, while the lights in the stands began to show the history of the modern Olympic Games, to show the Olympic values to the beings from other planets that come to Earth.

As a way to commemorate the Olympic values, the hoops began to be formed, which were used as structures to give way to a vertical pianist, who wore a long tunic and was accompanied by an opera singer, one of the great french music genres, singing the hymn of Apollo.

The whole artistic demonstration was intended to show the symbol of the five Olympic rings in the air, while the beings from another planet showed their strength by performing acrobatics both inside and outside the metal structures.

At the end of the first theatrical act, a video was shown with the great moments of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, showing the overflow of passion of all the athletes in the different categories that were disputed during the past two weeks.

Music comes to soothe the hearts of athletes

To begin the next act of the closing ceremony, the french band, Phoenix, invited all the athletes to the stage to enjoy their music. During their presentation they invited various artists, while demonstrating the electronic music and the play of lights. Phoenix demonstrated their versatility by going from rock to rap and pop.

The Olympic flame running through France

At the end of Phoenix's presentation, a montage was shown of how the Olympic flame was transported from the time it was lit until its arrival at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. At the end, the president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, and the person in charge of the organization of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Tony Estanguet, took the stage, accompanied by athletes from each of the world's continents. 

Estanguet spoke first in which he referred to all the preparation that went into this event, but "it was beyond anything we could have imagined", from the inauguration of the Games to the organization of the Games. During his speech, he thanked both the attendees and the athletes for leaving their hearts in Paris, as well as mentioning all the records broken during the 19 days and referring to it being one of the best Games ever. At the end, Bach took the floor, who greeted all the French governors and thanked all the athletes for attending and making "the city of light shine brighter than before", due to each contest and their performances, which thrilled every single human being around the world.

Goodbye Paris, hello Los Angeles 2028

After Thomas Bach finished speaking, the orchestra, accompanied by a children's choir, began to sing the Olympic Committee's anthem, while the Olympic flag was lowered from the flagpole. 

The flag was handed to the Mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass from the hands of the Mayor of Paris Ana Maria Hidalgo Aleu, since the next Olympic Games will be held on U.S. soil, so Her sang the U.S. national anthem, to open the four-year wait to see an event like this one.

Tom Cruise on the roof of the stadium

As previously reported, Tom Cruise jumped off the roof of the stadium while Her played the iconic Mission Impossible theme song. From the hands of Simone Biles, Tom Cruise took the flag of the Olympic Games on a motorcycle, on which he rode through the streets of Paris until he reached an airplane where he did not miss the opportunity to parachute, recalling his fame for his love of extreme sports. 

As if it were Mission Impossible, the actor climbed the Hollywood sign, where he formed the Olympic ring with the letters and colors, while the most outstanding American athletes in history began to walk the streets of the city of stars. Upon arriving at one of the beaches in Los Angeles, the official logo of the 2028 Olympic Games was displayed, where the Red Hot Chili Peppers were waiting for them.

But they weren't the only ones to perform, as on one side of the stage, in a lifeguard tower, Billie Eilish performed one of her greatest hits, Birds of a Feather, followed by one of Paris 2024's most prominent characters, Snoop Dog, singing Drop It Like It's Hot and the classic The Next Episode accompanied by Dr. Dre.

The Olympic flame leaves Paris

At the end of the charismatic rapper's performance, the broadcast returned to Paris, where Leon Marchand was greeted with cheers from the entire stadium. Upon arriving with the president of the Olympic Committee, he declared the Paris 2024 Olympic Games over, where athletes from all continents, following tradition, extinguished the Olympic flame, calling on the youth of the world to go to Los Angeles 2028. To end the ceremony, the song On My Way was sung for Yseult, while fireworks went off from the stadium, as this song is the union between the United States and France, since the original song is French.

The Paralympic Games

It should be remembered that the 2024 Paralympic Games will be held in Paris from August 28 to September 8.