Au Revoir, Paris. Welcome, Los Angeles.
IOC 33rd Summer Olympic Games 2024 – Paris, France 17th Day
The Closing Ceremony was held at the Stade de France in Saint – Denis, Paris. The 80,000 capacity National Stadium in France. The gala finale was a fitting end to a spectacle that was both a satisfaction & a celebration for the hosts.
Artistic Director – Thomas Jolly, Designer – Kevin Germanier. Choreographer – Vives, Lighting Designer – Antoine Travert, Composer – Cement Mirguet, Set Designer – Emmanuel Favre, Assistant Director – Samy Zerrouki, Dance Director – Maud Le Pladec, Musical Director – Victor le Masne, Styling & Costume Designer – Daphne Burki were the group involved on this very special instance. The medal ceremony of the very competitive Women’s Marathon was also held there-on.
The Welcome Address in French was delivered by the Head of the Olympic Games Organising Committee – Paris 2024, Tony Estranguet. He was a French Slalom Canoeist & 03 time Olympic Champion. The same in English was done by the President, International Olympic Committee – Thomas Bach. The German Foil Fencer was also an Olympic Champion. The President of France, Emmanuel Macron was also present. 06 Olympic medal winners – past & present accompanied them. They were Teddy Riner representing Europe, Emma McKeon representing Oceania, Sun Yingsha representing Asia, Cindy Ngamba representing the Refugee Olympic Team, Eliud Kipchoge representing Africa & Mijain Lopez representing the Americas. Between them it was revealed that the Games were imperfect but a huge success, that it was marked by the most marriage proposals amongst participating athletes, noted that the athlete delegations had reached 1:1 gender parity, & also expressed hope for a new generation of IOC leadership whilst exclaiming the Games were Seine – sational. The French flag bearer for the Closing Ceremony was Antoine Dupont – the captain of Rugby. He handed over the French National Flag to part of the French Paralympic team as a symbol of the passing of the guard to the upcoming Paralympic Games. The Olympic Flag was then handed over to Karen Bass – Mayor of Los Angeles – the next host city by Ann Hidalgo – the Mayor of the present host city – Paris. The tradition was only the second time in the history of the Modern Olympic Games that two female mayors were involved in this symbolic & historic gesture. It also happened in Tokyo, the last time too.
Leon Marchand, the French Swimmer who won 04 Gold medals establishing 04 Olympic records in the process was invited to bring the Olympic Torch to the arena. It was then extinguished by Thomas Bach, Leon Marchand & the other 06 Olympic medal winners who were with them. It was done the same way as it happened in Athens, it was revealed to the media. The Closing Ceremony of Paris 2024 was attended by around 9000 athletes,100 performers comprising acrobats, circus artistes & dancers. A high profile appearance by mega star movie icon, Tom Cruise in addition to a synchronized light show & a fireworks display added to the colourful end to a dream come true to many athletes from around the world in the biggest sports show on earth.
Haritha Perera in Paris, France facilitated by the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka