And so the curtain falls on the Paris 2024 Olympic Games! After two magnificent weeks, this epic celebration of sport and fellowship ends as it began, with another ceremony directed by Thomas Jolly and his team. Unsurprisingly, the closing ceremony is the hottest ticket in town!
Time flies… It feels like only yesterday that the 205 delegations sailed down the Seine in Thomas Jolly’s magnificent opening ceremony. But the time has come to say goodbye to the 33rd edition of the modern Olympic Games — and what Games they were! For two weeks, the world has been suspended in time, utterly captivated by the awe inspiring prowess of the athletes and billions of spectators, have been humbled by the fair play and fellowship on show at every Olympic venue. Tonight at 11:30 p.m., another Olympic chapter comes to an end, just as another begins, but fear not, the Paralympic pages to come promise to be just as memorable.
One Last Celebration
It would take far too long to list the reasons why you should watch this closing ceremony, but suffice to say, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to come together and celebrate Olympic sporting values. This Sunday, August 11th at 9pm CET, France will bask in the joy of hosting the world’s best athletes on home soil one last time. After the emotions of the past two weeks, it’s time to close these Olympic Games in style, together, as a proud French nation, and to give thanks those who contributed to this global success. But don’t worry! The 2024 Paralympic Games begin on August 28th, with a packed and equally thrilling program. The excitement isn’t over just yet — Paris 2024 has much more in store.
A tribute to the athletes
For Tony Estanguet, President of Paris 2024, “medals, joy, pride, and of course, unforgettable sporting moments”, are the memories and sentiments that best describe these Games. “Since that epic opening ceremony on the Seine, Paris 2024 has delivered an exceptional experience”, he says. “For two weeks, we’ve shared our joy at hosting these Games with the entire world, and tonight at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, we will deliver one final gift. Under the artistic direction of Thomas Jolly and his team, the closing ceremony will pay hommage to the athletes, the sporting disciplines, and the Games themselves in a truly grandiose show,” he promises.
Nine thousand athletes will take one final lap of the Stade de France track tonight to bid farewell to the Games and the spectators. 71,500 lucky souls will attend the event, but millions more will be watching the conclusion of this extraordinarily successful edition of the modern Olympics on television. The show kicks off at 9pm with a performance of Sous le ciel de Paris by the Haendel-Hendrix Academy Choir, to accompany the Olympic Flame as it enters the Stade de France. The 205 flag bearers of the participating Olympic delegations will then take centre stage on the pitch redesigned for the occasion as a map of the World, before the athletes join them for a moving ode to Olympic camaraderie.
This part of the evening will focus on sporting achievement with a final medal ceremony, paying tribute the women’s marathon. The heroines of this iconic event will be honored in an unprecedented victory ceremony, capping off the first gender-equal Olympic Games in history. The 45,000 volunteers, so crucial to the success of the Games, will also be honored during a ceremony that will give thanks to all those who made this event such a roaring success.
“Records”: a dreamlike journey through the foundations of humanity
The second part of the ceremony will focus more on entertainment, art, and culture. For the occasion, Thomas Jolly and his team have imagined a dystopian journey to redemption that celebrates the shared human experience of the Olympic Games. Entitled “Records”, this chapter draws inspiration from a narrative that dates back to Greek antiquity, where the “Olympic spirit” was born. “Records” takes us on a dreamlike journey through the foundations of humanity and pays homage to the creation of the Olympic Games and their revival by Pierre de Coubertin. In this part of the ceremony, spectators will follow a golden traveller from another time and place (played by French breakdancer Arthur Cadre), as he encounters metaphorical symbols that have shaped the Games and the values of unity and peace they represent. The tableau features 270 artists and performers, including the bands Air and Phoenix.
Destination: Los Angeles 2028
The final chapter of the evening will be dedicated to the handover between the organizing committees of Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028 — an opportunity for the American city to give us a taste of things to come with its own 15-minute show. A global city at the heart of sports, culture, and creativity, Los Angeles will welcome 15,000 elite athletes in four years time to write the next chapter of Olympic history.
The ceremony will reach its emotional peak with the extinguishing of the Olympic flame at around 11:30pm, with a performance of “My Way” by Yseult — a song that symbolises the strong connection between France and the United States. With this poignant and intimate rendition, the French singer will bring the ceremony to a close with the message: “We did it our way”. And what a way it was!
