Paris, France, August 11, 2024: The Paris 2024 Olympic Games came to a close at the Stade de France on Sunday evening.
The IOC President, Thomas Bach, described them as a “sensational Olympic Games from start to finish. Or, dare I say ‘Seine-sational’ Games,” he added, to the delight of the 62,000 spectators.
After an arty, almost sombre cultural performance featuring orchestral and choral interludes and dark, misty scenes, the closing ceremony came alive with the speeches of Tony Estanguet, President of the Organising Committee, followed by IOC President Bach.
“You made us happy. You made us feel alive. I wish all the best to my friends in Los Angeles,” Estanguet said, referring to the next Olympics in 2028.
President Bach, presiding over his last summer or winter Olympics as he will stand down in 2025, said the Olympic Games had “made the city of Paris shine brighter than ever before.”
He acknowledged the “amazing performances” of the athletes and also the fact that the athletes from all over the world had lived peacefully together under one roof.
“You created a culture of peace and this inspired all of us,” said President Bach. “Thank you for making us believe there is a better world for everyone. Let us live in a culture of peace every single day.”
He said the spectators had created an “overwhelming atmosphere” inside the venues and throughout the city and that these Olympics had been the first to feature gender parity among the 10,500 athletes. “These were Games of a new era,” he added.
The appearance of Tom Cruise inside the Stade de France set the stage for Los Angeles in four years’ time, before the scene switched to the beach and sea of southern California and a pop music festival to welcome the Olympics including a hip-hop show by Snoop Dog.
Back at the Stade de France, French swimming star Leon Marchand brought the Olympic flame into the stadium and President Bach declared the Games closed. Representatives of the different continents, including Chinese table tennis player Sun Yingsha for Asia, blew out the flame inside the lantern.
The closing ceremony finally came to a close shortly after midnight following three hours of performances, speeches and protocols.
