2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony

2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony

Date	11 August 2024 (2024-08-11)
Time	21:00 – 00:07 CEST (UTC+2)
Venue	Stade de France
Location	Saint-Denis, France
Also known as	Records
Filmed by	Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS)

The closing ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics took place at Stade de France on 11 August 2024.

As per traditional Olympic protocol, the ceremony featured cultural presentations from both the current (France) and following (United States) host countries, as well as closing remarks by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach and the COJOP2024 President Tony Estanguet; the official handover of the Olympic flag from Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo to Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass, whose city would host the 2028 Summer Olympics; and the extinguishing of the Olympic flame. The ceremony featured a mix of filmed and live segments, which included the second half of the Los Angeles 2028 presentation, taped from Long Beach.

Preparations

As with the opening ceremony, the closing ceremony was directed by Thomas Jolly; he stated that the ceremony would be a "visual, very choreographic, very acrobatic show with an operatic dimension", and have a storyline "in which the Olympic Games disappear once again, and someone comes along and founds them". In the wake of the opening ceremony controversy, executive director Thierry Reboul stated that the team had been asked to review and revise the closing ceremony a number of times in order to ensure that no scene could be misinterpreted in an offensive manner.

The director of the ceremony said of the event:

I've designed a show in which the Olympic Games disappear once again, and someone comes along and founds them. It's a very visual, very choreographic, very acrobatic show with an operatic dimension to give a great visual fresco and say goodbye to athletes from all over the world.

French bands Air and Phoenix were scheduled to perform during the ceremony; Reboul explained that "today, where we look at the history of music, it's certainly the French music style and the artists behind it, who have had the biggest resonance in the world. So it was important for us to acknowledge it".

In October 2023, British producer Ben Winston and his studio Fulwell 73 and Sseruwagi Sinclaire Sebastian were commissioned to produce the cultural presentation by Los Angeles, the host city of 2028. Variety reported that the segment, titled the LA28 Handover Celebration, would feature performances by American artists and Los Angeles County natives Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snoop Dogg, H.E.R., and Billie Eilish, and include an appearance by American actor Tom Cruise.

Events

Phoenix (pictured in 2018) were among the featured performers at the closing ceremony.

The closing ceremony took place at the Stade de France and, as per tradition, involved a parade of flags and athletes and the handover ceremony. It was officially titled "Records" and paid tribute to Greek antiquity as the birthplace of the "Olympic spirit" as well as portraying the revival of the Olympics by the French baron Pierre de Coubertin. It entailed over 100 performers, acrobats, dancers and circus artists; about 9,000 athletes took part.

The ceremonies began with Zaho de Sagazan singing "Sous le ciel de Paris", originally sung by Jean Bretonnière and popularized by Édith Piaf. The Olympic cauldron, a light and water display, was turned off at the Tuileries Garden, while the actual Olympic flame which had been stowed in a lantern nearby, was taken by four-time Olympic champion Léon Marchand to the stadium.

The ceremony included expressions of gratitude to the games' volunteers and audience participation in karaoke and a synchronized light show. French band Phoenix teamed up with Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend, Air, Vannda, and Kavinsky to perform a medley of songs, surrounded by athletes, on a stage shaped like a stylized world map. During the performance, numerous athletes climbed onto the stage and danced alongside the performers.

The presentation included the medal ceremony for the women’s marathon. The stadium then went dark, and a golden winged humanoid alien, portrayed by dancer Arthur Cadre, descended from its roof. It was named the "Golden Voyager" in honor of the French-made Voyager Golden Record time capsule intended as communication with extraterrestrial intelligence, and also represented the "Spirit of the Bastille" and the Greek mythological god Helios. The narrative was a future history of a dystopian world without the Olympics; the Golden Voyager, aided by descending dancers and acrobats dressed in grey zentai suits, mimed an archeological excavation from the stage, revealing a large copy of the Winged Victory of Samothrace statue of Nike in the Louvre, and five large brass artifacts that were lifted to form the Olympic rings. The Golden Voyager also interacted with the masked torchbearer from the opening ceremony, who presented it with the flag of Greece. Swiss musician and daredevil Alain Roche appeared in a suit made from old magnetic tapes, and played the Delphic Hymns on a grand piano hung from the roof with the broad side lit up and facing the audience.

Head of COJOP Tony Estanguet and President of the IOC Thomas Bach made their speeches. Estanguet's remarks noted that the Games was marked by the most marriage proposals among participating athletes, and the athlete delegations had reached gender parity; Bach expressed hope for a new generation of IOC leadership, thanked the Refugee Olympic Team for their exceptional performance, noted that the Games would be his last, and made a pun that they were "Seine-sational", to much groaning from the audience.

For the Antwerp ceremony, Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass was accompanied by gymnast Simone Biles for the handover of the Olympic flag from Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo. H.E.R. performed the National Anthem of the United States, and actor Tom Cruise abseiled from the Stade de France roof and departed the stadium on a motorcycle with the Olympic flag. A pre-recorded segment depicted Cruise boarding a transport plane, skydiving, and delivering the flag to the Los Angeles area. This was followed by performances from Long Beach, California featuring the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, and Billie Eilish.

The ceremony's penultimate section saw Marchand enter the stadium with the lantern containing the Olympic flame. He, Bach, and the newest inductees to the IOC Athletes' Commission, blew out the flame.

The ceremony closed with Yseult singing the Frank Sinatra hit "My Way", which was adapted from a French pop song.