Paris 2024 Olympics had it all: Sporting drama, revered venues, stirring singalongs... and Snoop Dogg
Celine Dion halfway up the Eiffel Tower singing French crowd favourite Hymne à l'amour, it couldn't get any more memorable than that could it?
Well, yes. Yes it could and it did.
The 16 days of the Paris 2024 encapsulated human drama, the iconic, historic, mesmeric venues of France's capital, the sport-celebrity mash ups we didn't know we needed, all accompanied by a soundtrack of perfectly chosen anthems bonding fans and athletes alike.
These Olympic Games had it all, and then added some more.
So, where to begin? With the tap, tap, tap of les trois coups, perhaps.
The culturally rich addition to these Games represent the moment in French classical theatre when someone delivers three blows to the floor of the stage with a stick, just before the start of a performance, to attract public attention for the rise of the curtain.
Transferred to the sporting stage, the dramatic introduction was adopted at Olympic venues across Paris, enlisting sporting icons to open proceedings.
Tony Hawk at La Concorde for the men's skateboarding, former NBA player Carmelo Anthony for the men's basketball, Billie Jean King at Roland Garros, and er, Snoop Dogg introducing breaking for its Olympic debut.
We'll get back to the Olympic dogfather later.
Once fans' attention was drawn, a sumptuous feast of sporting drama began.
Magic Marchand at Paris 2024
French swimmer Leon Marchand, somehow navigated the tag of favourite, being the face of his home Olympic Games, and the little matter of competing in six events at La Defense Arena.
Taking it all in his considerable stride, the 22-year-old secured four gold medals and one bronze, the hype around him building to such a crescendo that some Olympic events around the capital were paused while the crowd cheered another win for Marchand that they'd been watching on their phones.
Unheard of in sporting lexicon and unique to Paris 2024.
The first gold medal of the Games for the host nation came on day one as rugby legend Antoine Dupont led the rugby sevens side to a famous win in front of a raucous Stade de France crowd that sang La Marseillaise with gusto.
Meanwhile, Simone Biles stormed back to lead the way again in artistic gymnastics, wowing the crowd at the Bercy Arena that included the likes of Tom Cruise, Ariana Grande, and Lady Gaga, with Rebeca Andrade also in historic form.
Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia celebrates winning the gold medal during the women's 100m final on day eight of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France
Caribbean queens Thea LaFond and Julien Alfred win first Olympic golds for their nations
The emergence of smaller nations on the biggest of sporting stages came to the fore with both Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia winning gold in the women's 100m and Thea LaFond of Dominica wining triple jump.
The men's 100m required a photo finish to separate the sprinters with Noah Lyles emerging triumphant just five-thousandths of a second ahead of Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson. Lyles' compatriot Fred Kerley claimed bronze in 9.81 to Lyles' 9.784 and Thompson's 9.789.
With three Olympic gold medals in mind, to match his 100m, 200m and 4x100m world titles, the American came third in his favoured 200m event four days later before it was revealed he had Covid-19.
Sweden's Mondo Duplantis re-enacted his boyhood dream to win an Olympic gold medal with a world record. Yes, apparently some kids do dream that big, he told Olympics.com afterwards.
Each athlete also rang a trackside bell to celebrate their wins with some giving an enthusiastic ding, others a more lethargic dong, depending on whatever energy they had left after their most recent of exertions.
A historic 1-2-3 for the host nation in men's BMX racing courtesy of Joris Daudet, Sylvain André and Romain Mahieu took the roof off the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines BMX Stadium. Australia's Saya Sakakibara won the women's edition, her boyfriend, Mahieu, joining her in celebrating their his'n'hers medals.
The City of Love was making its mark, with proposals galore throughout the Games, such as French skiff sailors Sarah Steyaert and Charline Picon both being proposed to by their respective partners and badminton's Liu Yuchen getting down on one knee after Huang Ya Qiong won gold, but love in all its forms resonated throughout Paris.
Paris 2024, the City of Love delivers
The venues were eye-poppingly gorgeous, from the Palace of Versailles, host for equestrian and modern pentathlon, to the Eiffel Tower - acting as a stunning backdrop to the beach volleyball, with cyclists, triathletes and marathon swimmers all receiving their medals in front of the Iron Lady.
Nature played its part, too, with a whale breaching behind surfers Tatiana Weston-Webb and Brisa Hennessy during their semi-final match up in Tahiti, and the natural light coming through the glass roof of the Grand Palais that lit up the taekwondo and fencing competitions.
The crowd shared their love at the Champions Park, where medal winners strutted down a catwalk surrounded by cheering fans with the Eiffel Tower again overseeing proceedings.
Athletes also celebrated with each other, family, friends and fans in Olympic Houses and official fanzones in various locations around the capital.
France House was abuzz with celebrations from dozens of medal-winning athletes, dancing under confetti until late into the night.
And in a celebrity mash up we didn't know we needed, Snoop Dogg and Simone Biles took in some athletics together. The rapper has been seen at several of events, including meeting the "crip walking" horse he'd originally commented on at Tokyo 2020, which led to his unexpected Olympic superfan role in Paris.
And so, from the Olympic cauldron lit by three-time gold medallist Marie-Jose Perec and Teddy Riner, now a five-time gold medallist after adding two more to his collection in Paris, to the handover to the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028.
From the City of Love to the City of Angels, then.
Au revoir de Paris, fans des Jeux olympiques, à la prochaine fois.