Olympic Closing Ceremony - 'Games of a new era': Paris says goodbye
Actionstar Tom Cruise abseiled from the roof of the Stade de France, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish, and Snoop Dogg heated up the crowd in front of a "LA 28" symbol at a California beach: The upcoming Olympic host, Los Angeles, gave a spectacular sneak peek of the Hollywood Games 2028 at the closing ceremony of Paris, outshining the sometimes drawn-out French party with a star-studded lineup. As the flame was extinguished, the Summer Games in France's capital came to an end.
For outgoing German IOC President Thomas Bach, the closing ceremony was unique. For the last time, he delivered the closing words. "The Olympic Games Paris 2024 were the Olympic Games of a new era," said the 70-year-old, thanking the hosts. "Dear French friends, you have fallen in love with the Olympic Games. And we have all fallen in love with you."
The ceremony picked up the thread of the opening ceremony and began in the Tuileries at the Louvre. There, swimming superstar Léon Marchand approached the Olympic flame. The quadruple Olympic champion of Paris carried the flame in a lantern towards the world-famous museum, later that evening it reached the Stade de France - and was extinguished by athletes from all continents.
Lindemann and Rendschmidt carry the German flag
At the beginning of the ceremony, Olympic champions Laura Lindemann and Max Rendschmidt carried the German flag into the arena. "The world's eyes are on us. We're just happy," Rendschmidt said to ZDF shortly before the ceremony began. Many of his teammates also didn't want to miss this experience. The German team finished the Summer Games with 33 medals, ranking 10th in the medal table, the lowest since reunification.
"This Olympic Games has exceeded all expectations," Bach said before the ceremony began. "A fantastic experience, enriched with French culture and lifestyle. This spark has obviously jumped to the population." After the Summer Games of Tokyo and the Winter Games of Beijing, the Olympic Games in Paris were no longer affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bach said the Games were more inclusive and moved where the people were. "They are younger and above all more sustainable games," said the 1976 Olympic champion. The CO2 balance was to be reduced by over 50 percent compared to previous games, with 95 percent of the competition venues already existing or only temporarily built.
Over 71,000 spectators and 9,000 athletes and officials from 205 delegations watched the evening at the French national stadium. After the crowd-pleasers "Aux Champs-Élysées" and "We are the champions," the artistic part of the evening began. Like the spectacular opening ceremony on the Seine, Thomas Jolly was the artistic director for the grand finale. With over 250 artists, acrobats, and dancers, the Stade de France became a theater. The rehearsals for the show lasted a total of 35 days.
During the ceremony, the Olympic flag was also handed over from Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo to her colleague Karen Bass from Los Angeles. "We will share a historic moment and send a message to girls all over the world that they can achieve anything," Bass said beforehand about the first handover of the flag from woman to woman.
Over 30,000 security personnel were on duty.
Over 9.5 million tickets were sold for the games, with over 60% going to French sports fans. Nearly a million people lined the streets for the road cycling events, and 450,000 spectators visited the beach volleyball stadium, located spectacularly near the Eiffel Tower.
Security was a key focus during the final weekend of the Olympics as well. 30,000 personnel were deployed across the Paris area, with 2,000 dedicated to securing the closing ceremony.
In his final closing ceremony as IOC President, Thomas Bach praised the Olympic Games Paris 2024, saying, "The Olympic Games Paris 2024 were the Olympic Games of a new era." Later in the event, Thomas Jolly, the artistic director for the grand finale, led a performance at the Stade de France with over 250 artists, acrobats, and dancers.
