- Bach's final speech, "Games of a new era"
Outgoing IOC President Thomas Bach, in his final Olympic closing address, highlighted the renewal of the Olympic Agenda for the Games in Paris as a success. "The Olympic Games Paris 2024 were Games of a new era," said the 70-year-old German at the closing ceremony in the Stade de France.
"The first Olympic Games to fully embody our reforms of the Olympic Agenda: younger, more urban, more inclusive, more sustainable. The first Olympic Games with full gender parity," he said.
Bach thanked the hosts. "Dear French friends, you have fallen in love with the Olympic Games. And we have all fallen in love with you," said the 1976 fencing Olympic champion.
Bach announced his retirement
The native of Würzburg had announced on Saturday that he would step down at the end of his second term as IOC President next year. He said he would not agree to any change in the Olympic Charter to abolish the term limit, during the General Assembly of the International Olympic Committee in Paris. He had taken over the top post at the IOC in 2013, succeeding the Belgian Jacques Rogge.
The Olympic Agenda for the Games in Paris marked a new era, as Bach referred to the Olympic Games Paris 2024 as such.In his final address, Bach highlighted that the Paris 2024 Olympics represented the first Olympic Games to fully embody the reforms of the Olympic Agenda.
