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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
James Wallace

Paris 2024 Olympics closing ceremony: the Games come to an end – as it happened

Paris Olympics (Event) Paris 2024 Snoop Dogg Los Angeles
The fireworks display during the closing ceremony
The fireworks display during the closing ceremony. Photograph: Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters

Time for me to say au revoir and merci beaucoup on behalf of all the Guardian live-bloggers who have helmed the coverage over the past fortnight. It’s been great fun and your comments and contributions help make it so.

We’ll be back to bring you all the action from the Paralympic Games, they get under way in the City of Love at the end of the month. Until then, thanks for your company this evening and goodbye to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Updated

Before I clock off - seriously, no medals of any hue necessary – there’s time to plug some final Olympic content from our writers:

The BBC do these things so well – take a look at their closing montage:

The 2024 Paris Olympic Games are declared closed

Léon Marchand, remember him? The heavily GILLded (it’s getting late, ok?) swimmer strolls into the Stade de France with the Olympic Flame from the Jardins des Tuileries that we saw him collect five hours ago. That’s some callback.

Chants of “Léon, Léon!” can be heard.

The six athletes who accompanied the speeches earlier wait for a now nervous looking Marchand on the dry ice filled stage.

IOC President Bach declares the Games closed and then the six athletes and Marchand blow out the flame in the lantern. It’s a moving moment.

In accordance with tradition, I call upon the youth of the world to assemble four years from now in Los Angeles, United States of America, to celebrate with all of us the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad,” President Bach adds.

Antoine Dupont passes the French national flag over to the French Paralympic team and we are very nearly at the end of Paris 2024.

The final act goes to French singer-songwrite Yseult – singing an interpretation of Frank Sinatra’s classic, My Way, which was originally based on the French song Comme d’habitude.

The roof of the Stade de France explodes with fireworks. That’s it. Paris Olympics 2024 c’est fini et ça a été magnifique.

Updated

Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre perform from the Venice Beach Lifeguard station. My TV conks out for some reason, I don’t think it’s because of any underlying anti-Eilish or Snoop sentiment.

Updated

The Red Hot Chili Peppers play in the background as Cruise is shown speeding through Parisian streets and then in Hollywood where he plonks the flag on the Hollywood sign to give it some extra Os.

We’re now transported to an obscenely sunny and palm tree-strewn Venice Beach in LA. Flea slaps his bass and Anthony Kiedis sports the world’s most obviously “Just for Men” moustache as they creak through Can’t Stop.

Updated

The Olympic Flag is lowered and handed over to the mayor of the City of Angels – Karen Bass. I reckon Cruise is imminent. Simone Biles takes to the stage so there should be at least one person in the stadium shorter than the pint sized Mission Impossible star.

Emmy, Grammy, and Oscar winning US artist H.E.R belts out the Star-Spangled Banner impressively AND HERE IS TOM CRUISE.

He abseils from the roof and lands on the stadium floor. Picks up the flag from Biles, yes, he is wearing Indiana Jones esque leathers and a particularly chunky set of heels – you can still find ‘em. He takes the Olympic flag and zooms out of the stadium…

Updated

IOC President Thomas Bach makes his speech and can’t resist a pun. Andrew Cotter audibly groans on the BBC commentary at this bit:

“These were sensational Olympic Games from start to finish – or dare I say: Seine-sational Games.” Brave to go for the Seine gag after all the Pepto-Bismol and E-coli based chatter that has dominated the news in the run up to and during the games.

Elsewhere, in a mercilessly not marathon length speech, Bach says :

Despite all the tensions in our world, you came here from all 206 national Olympic committees and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team, to make the City of Light shine brighter than ever before.

Your performances were amazing. You competed fiercely against each other. Every contest on the edge of perfection. Every performance sparking excitement around the world. You showed us what greatness we humans are capable of.

The Olympic Games Paris 2024 were a celebration of the athletes and of sport at its best.”

Updated

Tony Estanguet’s speech went down very well in the Stadium. He thanks the spectators, “We knew you would be brilliant but you have been magic … we are so proud of you, bravo to all of you!”

“We are all in love with the Games, the 19 days have passed so quickly and these 19 days will always stay with us.”

“On behalf of billions of sport lovers across the five continents, thank you very much. We will be reunited in LA28, and the Games will keep growing.”

He then invites the world to do it all again in Paris in a few weeks’ time:

“The same venues in two and a half weeks’ time, 4,500 athletes are ready. I invite you on 28th August to the best return match of your lives, be there at the Paralympics 2024.”

Updated

Here comes Tony Estanguet to deliver the big closing ceremony speech. The three-time Olympic champion in canoeing is now better known as the president of the Organising Committee for Paris 2024. He is suave and confident, in possession of a certain Gallic charisma. The crowd cheer in all the right places as he delivers his speech. I’ll post some of the key passages shortly.

He is joined up on stage by six athletes who are representing the five continents and the Refugee Olympic Team.

According to the Olympics website they are:

  • Boxer Cindy Ngamba (EOR), one bronze medal, representing the Refugee Olympic Team

  • Table tennis player Sun Yingsha (CHN), three gold medals, two silver medals, representing Asia

  • Marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge (KEN), two gold medals, one silver medal, one bronze medal, representing Africa

  • Wrestler Mijaín López (CUB), five gold medals, representing the Americas

  • Judoka Teddy Riner (FRA), five gold medals, two bronze medals, representing Europe

  • Swimmer Emma McKeon (AUS), six gold medals, three silver medals, five bronze medals, representing Oceania

Updated

Now now David…

Now, obviously I now nuthin’ but I don’t think this has been bad at all. Currently filed under ‘enjoyably quirky’ as Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig comes out to do his Upper East Side scatting alongside Phoenix.

Some of the scenes from the closing ceremony, below.

Updated

Angèle is singing with Phoenix. Kaminsky and Vannda too. What do you mean you haven’t…

And here are the mighty Air! The sexy boys are dressed all in white and looking not unlike Walter White and Jesse as they get up to no good in the meth factory. They know their way around an ambient tune though. One for the nostalgists out there, of which I am most certainly one.

The athletes are now on the main stage – which is shaped to represent the five continents and its oceans. The tracksuit clad are then booted off and French band Phoenix are now playing live. I’m not overfamiliar with their oeuvre but I do remember this earworm from a while back:

Pinsent is on high alert:

The Olympic rings are being ‘excavated’ Tony Robinson style from the stadium floor.

The official blurb informs us: “The Golden Voyager discovers the Olympic rings whilst French pianist and opera singer Benjamin Bernheim sings the Hymn to Apollo, while Alain Roche plays on a piano while being suspended vertically in the air.” I’m trying to make a joke about scales/scaling but can’t quite land it.

This is evocative stuff now in the Stade de France. But you can’t please them all:

Updated

Now then, this is impressive. A moodlit piano is hauled upwards from the stadium floor and an extravagantly caped figure is playing it while dangling down vertically from the keys!

Updated

It’ll not win us the Pulitzer.

Updated

Righto, down to brass tacks in the stadium. Darkness descends and the main show is starting.

“From the sky, a Golden Voyager appears. This character is inspired by references from French history, including the Spirit of the Bastille.” Not my words, the words of the official Olympic website.

The crowd are all wearing those light-up bracelets that Chris Martin is fond of doling out. Is it Chris playing the role of the Golden Voyager? He does love a guest appearance. So far I’m getting The Masked Singer at a Coldplay gig. Probably just as artistic director Thomas Jolly intended.

Updated

Here’s the customary celebration of the last event at each Olympic Games – The Marathon. At Paris 2024, the last event was the women’s marathon rather than the men’s and I’m reliably informed this was done to highlight the Women’s March on Versailles in 1789. You probably knew that already.

The rest of the Dutch athletes swarm the front of the podium to cheer women’s marathon gold medalist Sifan Hassan as she receives her bling. Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia and Hellen Obiri of Kenya beam widely as they are presented with silver and bronze respectively.

The 45,000 volunteers are then thanked to rapturous applause. The organisers will be mightily pleased and no doubt relieved at how seamless the Games have been pulled off. Can you imagine the planning that goes into something like this? The sheer volume of spreadsheets and terrifying amount of Google Docs?

Updated

“It’s always a glorious sight to see the youth of the world, assembled on the floor of the Olympic stadium as they are now,” says Hazel Irvine on the BBC commentary as Gala’s Freed From Desire is given the big one by the DJ and then Queen’s We are The Champions is belted out.

Updated

Around 10,500 athletes took part in Paris 2024, not all of them have stuck around for the closing party but a good number are out there dancing and cavorting. And, just as in Paris 1924, thousands of selfies are being taken.

Updated

“So many great sporting moments” says Emma Harbour “but for me I loved that this games had spectators again. The crowds were amazing in their enthusiasm and support and so many of the athletes mentioned this fact in their interviews.”

Yep – the exuberance of the fans has been a revelation over the past few weeks. A visceral reminder of what was missing in Tokyo due to the pandemic. It must make such a difference to compete in front of a passionate and knowledgeable crowd.

Hello to Inge Kersten who emails in some highlights from a Dutch perspective:

“Worthy de Jong amazing final second 2 point shot in the basketball 3x3, Hollywood worthy…

Femke Bol going from 4th to 1st in the mixed 4x400, Sifan Hassan’s insane schedule resulting in two bronze and an amazing gold, Harrie Lafreysen getting his hat-trick
and (apologies but) Netherlands finishing 6th!
Thanks to you and your colleagues for an amazing liveblog. See you at the Paralympics?”

It’s been a real pleasure - thank you Inge and absolutely – we’ll be doing it all again come the 28th August. Can’t wait.

Updated

IOC President Thomas Bach and French President Emmanuel Macron have arrived in the Stade de France. Better late than never lads. Neither of them abseiled into the stadium. Wusses.

The French flag is carried into the stadium and the Orchestre Divertimento and Maîtrise de Fontainebleau perform a particularly stirring rendition of La Marseillaise.

Here come the Flagbearers! DON’T TRIP OVER! Antoine Dupont nearly stacks it on a rogue bit of cable as he enters the stadium! The hunky rugby star just manages to stay on his feet as if he was escaping an ankle tap tackle. A few other near trips follow – someone is going to get fired for that shoddy cable work. Or at the very list a dressing down by a health and safety officer.

Updated

Andrew Cotter and Hazel Irvine have started commentary on the Beeb. Class acts both. Can’t promise the same amount of coiffed professionalism on here, I’ve just cracked open a continental lager on an empty stomach.

This is a lovely start. As the sun sets over the Jardins des Tuileries – where the Olympic Cauldron is located – Zaho de Sagazan and the choir of the Académie Haendel-Hendrix sing Édith Piaf’s Sous le ciel de Paris.

Everything sounds better in French. They could be singing the text of an MOT certificate and it’d still sound like the most romantic thing in the world.

A huge cheer can be heard from inside the 80,000 seater Stade de France as a suited and booted Leon Marchand appears on the screens. Marchand strolls up to the cauldron unencumbered by his four gold (and single bronze) medals and lights a lantern with the flame. The camera lingers on him as he walks off. I should think he’s on the way to the Stadium. Best get a wriggle on Leon, we know you can.

Updated

Fifty quid to whoever can guess the tune that accompanies the Beeb’s Olympic montage? In fact, forget that. Of course it’s ‘One Day Like This” by Elbow. Overused at this sort of thing yes but still the best and possibly only deployment of the word ‘chamois’ in a pop song?

The closing ceremony will also include the parade of athletes where flag-waving fans will get their dirty fix. Great Britain’s golden duo of Alex Yee and Bryony Page will be bearing the Union Jack.

We’ll also see -amongst the razzamatazz - the thanking of the 45,000 volunteers, the medal ceremony for the women’s marathon, the extinguishing of the Olympic flame and the proclamation of the end of the Olympic Games by Thomas Bach - president of the International Olympic Committee. For now…

Updated

Paris is hugged by a pink sky and looks resplendent on the TV footage. Have the Beeb put some sort of filter on that? Seems almost too perfect. It’s beautiful enough to bring a tear to the eye and send you grasping for the Gauloises. C’est magnifique.

Over the next few hours we’ll see the Olympic flag ceremonially transferred from Paris to LA and more than likely an entire country’s GDP of fireworks spaffed into the inky Parisian sky at the close.

Each host nation is given free reign to celebrate however they see fit:

Celebratory moments from previous Olympic Games have seen a reunion of the Spice Girls, the British pop group arriving into the arena standing atop the famous London black cab taxis singing ‘Spice up your Life’ at London 2012.

At Sydney 2000, Australian popstar Kylie Minogue brought the curtain down on the first Games of the new millennium with a rendition of ABBA’s ‘Dancing Queen’ clad in a bright pink showgirl costume, complete with feathers.”

Updated

‘Records’ is the somewhat cryptic name given to the 2024 Olympic Closing ceremony. I’m going to stick my neck on the line and say that music will play a sizeable part. The official Olympic website has some more incisive/equally spurious blurb”

More than 100 performers, acrobats, dancers, and circus artists will join world-renowned singers in various musical performances. Part of the show will take place in the air, accompanied by spectacular lighting effects and the flair of the French in the costumes, with the overall effect taking spectators – both those at home and in person – “on a journey into the past, to the origins of the Games, but also into the future, and ultimately to a timeless universe”.

Ceremony artistic director Richard Jolly describes the show as “very visual”, “acrobatic” and “operatic”, with a “great visual fresco”.

On 11 August 2024, the Olympic Games will be over, and the Olympic flame will be extinguished, that moment will remind us just how precious these Olympic Games are - a unique monument to a shared experience - and therefore fragile.”

Thanks for sending in some of your favourite moments. Keep ‘em coming.

“Bryony Page’s reaction to winning Trampoline Gold was wonderful!” says Stephen Thomas. “She’s apparently off to Cirque du Soleil next, after gaining a Biology PhD - is there anything this woman cannot do?!”

“Undoubtedly the best moment of the games has to be the DJ spinning John Lennon’s Imagine as the Women’s beach volleyball final was getting over-heated and they were about to kick sand into each others faces!” writes Alex Blackham

Pieter Van Stein plumps for “The basketball 3x3 final France v The Netherlands, especially the final seconds of regular time immediately followed by the short first-2-points-wins extension”

This is a lovely yarn from Ben Bloom:

Final Day Reportage: If you think our intrepid reporters on the ground in Paris have spent the final day of the games putting their cobble-corned trotters up and necking Châteauneuf-du-Pape like it’s going out of sell-by-date then you’d be very much mistaken:

This is pretty nifty. Want to check exactly who won what, in what time, when and where? We’ve got you covered:

Updated

Greatest moments of the 2024 Games? Do you agree or disagree with these? What’ve we missed and what wasn’t actually all that? These things won’t debate themselves. Feel free to have your say by whanging an email into the mailbag.

Updated

It’s not really about the final medal table though is it? Is it?

As we countdown to the main event, I’ll share some of our reports and features from the final day of action in Paris. The TV coverage of the event on the Beeb doesn’t get underway until 7pm. Countryfile is currently showing on Channel One and emitting its weekly Sunday evening dose of existentialism ‘what am I doing with my life living in a one bedroom flat in South London when I could be rearing snuggly looking sheep and living in idyllic rural bliss in Herefordshire’ type of thing. Channel 4 is showing a decidedly un-Olympian ‘Secret World of Crisps’ and ITV a Harry Potter film for the BILLIONTH time.

Anyway – this is a better option than all of the above – The Guardian’s snappers have collated a jaw-droppingly lovely collection of pictures from the past two weeks. Enjoy.

Updated

Preamble

C’est fini. Well almost.

Can you believe it was only two weeks ago that Paris 2024 got under way? So much SPORT has happened since that it feels like a lifetime ago that the eyes of the sporting world were trained on a somewhat mizzly and murky Seine and the athlete flotillas.

Céline Dion’s performance of Edith Piaf’s Hymne a l’amour saved what had been something of a haphazard opening ceremony and set the tone for the triumph of the fortnight to follow. It’s been a belter hasn’t it?

We’ll have plenty of time to discuss the thrills, spills, highs, lows and favourite moments over the course of the next few hours. Please do get in touch at the details on the left of the page to have your say on all that has happened and also to comment on whatever the closing ceremony has in store. I can’t do this alone - believe me.

Will the Olympic baton pass from Paris to LA go smoothly or is there a spillage or two in the pipes? It seems likely that Tom Cruise will abseil from the top of the Stade de France stadium roof and Billie Eilish, Red Hot Chili Peppers and H.E.R are slated to perform. As is, of course, Paris 2024’s superfan extraordinaire Snoop Dogg. Let’s hope it’s not Snoop in control of the metaphorical baton pass, he’s been known to drop it… oh I can’t even.

French musical royalty Air and Phoenix will also provide musical accompaniment to what Artistic director Thomas Jolly has promised to be a “science-fiction dream-like immersive journey through time”. You didn’t hear it here first.

All that and plenty more besides to come over the next few hours - the official start time of the closing ceremony is 8pm BST and it is due to finish at 10.30pm BST. I’ll be here for the duration. Let the Games begin be closed!

Updated

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