Paris 2024 Olympic Games: relive the closing ceremony in pictures
The 33rd Olympic Games of the modern era drew to a close. First in the Jardin des Tuileries, near the Olympic cauldron, then at the Stade de France, a three-hour show brought to an end a fortnight of dreams in the French capital. The transition to Los Angeles has been made, and it's up to the Americans to keep up the good work in four years' time!
In front of a still-burning cauldron, Zaho de Sagazan launched the evening. As Céline Dion, who had closed the opening ceremony with Edith Piaf, she sang 'Sous le ciel de Paris', performed by La Môme in 1954. Accompanied by the Handel-Hendrix Academy Choir, it was a gentle start.
Who else but him? If he wasn't the flag-bearer this evening, it was to offer him another choice position. The man with four Olympic titles (a record for this Olympiad), Léon Marchand, took hold of the lantern containing the Olympic Flame. The one that has been burning in Olympia since mid-April, thanks to the rays of the sun. The same one that crossed France between 9 May and 26 July. The man from Toulouse set off towards the Stade de France. Behind him, the cauldron is now extinguished.
After a revised Marseillaise by the Maîtrise de Fontainebleau - accompanied by the Divertimento orchestra led by conductor Zahia Ziouani - and the raising of the French flag, the delegations began to enter the stadium. Cheerful and with a certain sense of festivity, they brought volunteers with them, who were also part of it.
With 64 medals to its name, the French delegation was one of the loudest to arrive at the venue. It was led by two gold medalists, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Antoine Dupont. Representing an individual sport for the cyclist and a team sport for the rugby player, the CNOSF and its president David Lappartient were determined to make this a reality.
They are also honoured in turn. After entering with the athletes, the volunteers take their turn on stage and are cheered by the 70,000 spectators. For a fortnight, they served both athletes and the public, on a voluntary basis.
It's the last podium of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. And what a podium it was! Around the Dutchwoman, Sifan Hassan, the three women enjoy an extraordinary victory ceremony. The marathon runners couldn't hide their smiles. They are the last medal winners of this 2024 edition.
Once the formalities are over, the show imagined by Thomas Jolly and his teams can get under way. Descending from the sky, the mysterious Golden Voyager receives the Greek flag from the hands of the no less mysterious masked figure seen at the Opening Ceremony.
Never short of a disruptive idea, the organisers continue to break codes. Pianist Alain Roche took to the skies, as he knows how to do it. A new ode to the sky at these Olympic Games. Higher, louder.
In a futuristic show tinged with mythological references, the rings are assembled on the ground by dancers, before being propelled to the heights of the Stade de France. Phoenix, Air, Kavinsky and Angèle provide the musical entertainment.
Surrounded by IOC President Thomas Bach and athletes representing every continent, Tony Estanguet gave his closing speech. The Chairman of the Organising Committee, himself an Olympic champion, saluted the athletes, organisers and volunteers, and thanked the public. They had come from all over the world and even closer to home. "France was there. We thought we were a nation of die-hard complainers, but we've woken up in a country of unbridled supporters who won't stop singing", he says, all smiles.
Hanging from a rope, suspended in mid-air, he arrived from nowhere. Tom Cruise has the impossible mission of carrying the Olympic flag to Los Angeles, the host city of the next Summer Games in 2028. On his motorbike, he rode through the crowd of athletes and into the half-light. The ceremony is due to finish soon, but will he make it in time?
Mission impossible, but mission accomplished for Tom Cruise, surely with a little help from technology. The flag has crossed the Atlantic and is now at Venice Beach, having been carried by many hands. The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Billie Eilish are now hosting it. The party can go on.