Olympic fever returns to the French capital this Saturday, with an after-party on the Champs-Elysées featuring a parade of athletes and a giant open-air concert to bid a final farewell to the 2024 Games.
Some 70,000 spectators are expected to turn out for a parade of Olympic and Paralympic athletes who will march down the iconic Champs-Elysées this Saturday, followed by a free open-air concert on the Place de l'Etoile – home to the equally iconic Arc de Triomphe.
The idea of hosting a final parade was announced by President Emmanuel Macron during the Olympics, and takes place less than a week after the end of the Paralympic Games and a successful summer of sport and festivities overall.
The "Champions Parade" concept caught on like wildfire, as the 70,000 free tickets made available were snapped up within an hour on Wednesday.
In addition to the athletes, those who took part in the preparation and staging of the Games – including volunteers and staff from the prefecture and Paris city hall – there will be between 8,000 to 10,000 people marching down the legendary Parisian avenue.
"We're delighted to be able to offer another great moment to celebrate the France team's athletes at a strategic location," chief organiser Tony Estanguet told reporters on Friday. "We are going to really try to finish this adventure in the most beautiful way."
Around 4,000 police are expected on duty, with the security services facing one final test after winning almost unanimous praise for the way they kept the Games and their 12 million spectators safe.
The parade will be held from 4pm to 6pm, with the participants being honoured for their contribution to the success of the 2024 Olympics.
Macron is set to decorate many of France's medal winners with the country's top award, the Legion d'Honneur.
A 'best of' spectacular
A giant 300-metre stage has been set up between Avenue George V and Place de l'Etoile, as well as a ring-shaped stage around the Arc de Triomphe for the concert, which will start at 9pm and end with a DJ set between 11pm and midnight.
Thierry Reboul, director of the Olympic Ceremonies, has promised "a best of" of the four Games ceremonies.
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"We are regularly asked to revisit and rehearse the best of what we have experienced," he told reporters.
Saturday night's concert will feature singer Chris, formerly of Christine & the Queens, who performed at the Paralympics opening ceremony, as well as blind Malian duo Amadou & Mariam among others.
'Parade' released on streaming platforms
The director of music for the Olympics, Victor Le Masne, has also promised "a great concert with great artists".
This comes as the flagship track of the 2024 Games – "Parade" – was released across streaming platforms on Thursday evening.
The track – unveiled upon the arrival of the Olympic flame in Marseille on 8 May – has been played throughout Olympic and Paralympic events, particularly at the torch relay and medal ceremonies.
It was also the melody that launched the river parade on the Seine during the opening ceremony on 26 July and a complete album of Olympic compositions is due to be released at a date yet to be announced.
It's going to be "the soundtrack of our memories", says Le Masne, according to whom "pop culture invited itself to these Games".
National day of sport
Analysts say the Games served as a form of escapism for many French people as well as generating a rare form of national union and pride – but the effects are not expected to last long.
"We need to respond to this spirit of the Games, of this national harmony that was expressed," Macron told Le Parisien newspaper on Friday.
Keen to take advantage of the afterglow of the Games, Macron announced his intention to create an Olympics-inspired "national day of sport" every year on 14 September.
"We need to spend time together at a day of sport, which would take place in the street, schools, in dedicated sports centres," he told Le Parisien.
