Paris: Goodbye, Paris 2024! The 33rd Summer Olympics ended on Sunday after 16 days of top-notch competition in 32 sports and 329 events.
Los Angeles took up the mantle from Paris after creating its fair share of iconic moments.
During the closing ceremony, about 70,000 people packed the stadium to witness 270 artists and entertainers.
Thomas Jolly, artistic director of the Paris 2024 Olympic ceremonies, created “Records,” a spectacular display that was performed at the Stade de France to celebrate the Games and make sure that everyone could party until the very end.
It was a beautiful opportunity for everyone to honour the athletes who achieved success in their sporting endeavours.
With more than a hundred performers, including acrobats, dancers, and circus artists, the Stade de France was converted into an enormous music venue.
IOC President Thomas Bach and President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron received a loud cheer as the duo shook hands and hugged each other, waving at the crowd.
A flag party then brought the French flag into the stadium, where Maitrise de Fontainebleau and the Orchestre Divertimento sang Victor le Masne’s rendition of La Marseillaise, France’s national anthem.
After entering the arena, every athlete was spotted dancing and snapping pictures of themselves to commemorate the occasion.
Funny moments
The speaker had to tell the athletes to get down after they sprang into the stadium due to their enthusiasm.
The athletes weren’t prepared to go, but the volunteers succeeded in clearing the stage amid chuckles after making repeated requests. After that, the show continued.
‘Seine-sational Olympic Games’
“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,” remarked 1976 Olympic fencing champion Thomas Bach, addressing the sizable crowd.
“It was an incredible show that you gave. You engaged in intense rivalry with one another. Every competition was just shy of being flawless. All throughout the world, excitement was generated by each performance. You demonstrated to us the magnificence of human nature. He declared, “The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris were a celebration of sport at its finest and of the athletes.”
“The inaugural Olympic Games were held entirely in accordance with the reforms outlined in our Olympic Agenda: they were more inclusive, youthful, urban, and sustainable. The first-ever gender-neutral Olympic Games,” Bach.
Breathtaking Tom Cruise entry!
Hollywood actor Tom Cruise rappelled from the Stade de France roof! He greeted athletes, who hugged and kissed him on the way to the stage.
He will help transport the Olympic Flag from Paris to Los Angeles via the streets of Paris and the hills of Hollywood, as he did when he took it from Simone Biles.
And lastly, a Snoop Dog song to add even more energy to the event.
The head of the IOC then declared the 2024 Games to be over. “See you LA…”
–IANS
(Photo: IANS/Biplab Banerjee)
