A show was needed that matched the magic of the last two weeks. On August 11, 2024, director Thomas Jolly brought this 33rd edition of the Olympic Games to a beautiful close, putting on a show that was acclaimed by the 70,000 spectators at the Stade de France. After two weeks of frantic competition, adrenaline rushes, and sparkling victories, the artist chose to take the audience on a journey into a much more disturbing dystopian future, in which the Olympic Games would have simply disappeared.
To bring them back to life and bring together the five Olympic rings scattered on stage, dancer Arthur Cadre, accompanied by dozens of other artists and performers, performed acrobatics, breakdance steps and stunts for nearly 40 minutes. In the overheated Saint-Denis stadium, Alain Roche’s suspended piano then gave way to a concert led by the groups Phoenix and Air, joined by a few surprise guests such as Kavinsky, Angèle and Ezra Koenig.
An hour earlier, the artist Zaho de Sagazan, already very noticed for her performance at the Cannes festival, opened this ceremony at the Jardin des Tuileries, brilliantly performing a song by Edith Piaf with appropriate lyrics. “People by the thousands under the Parisian sky, until the evening will sing, the story of a people in love with their old city”, the artist continued, carried by the Handel-Hendrix choir.
Then, at the very spot where Teddy Riner and Marie-José Pérec lit the Olympic flame two weeks earlier, swimmer Léon Marchand stepped forward, in a dark suit, to take over. The four-time Olympic medalist, the new darling of French spectators, is serving as a relay for the next competitions, which will take place in Los Angeles. At the Stade de France, 70,000 people scream with joy when his face appears on the giant screens. His legendary status is assured.
“Paris is a party”
In the arena, spectators enjoy every moment, aware that this spectacle is the final point of the Paris 2024 Games, which will leave a lasting mark on the history of the competition. First, through its historic images, from the cycling race on the cobbled streets of Montmartre to the finish of the triathlon at Les Invalides, via the show jumping in the gardens of Versailles or the fencing competitions under the glass roof of the Grand Palais… Then, through the overflowing energy of the Parisian public, who gave their voices during each competition to accompany the athletes until the end of the effort, largely contributing to the indescribable atmosphere of these Games. And above all, through the impressive performances of the athletes, who were able to surpass the limits of their respective sports.
How can we not mention the six medals won by the French judo team in a few days, the triple Olympic victory of Teddy Riner or the four gold medals won by Léon Marchand, including two on the same evening, during the first week of competition? How can we forget the victory of the French volleyball team, which won its second consecutive Olympic gold medal against Poland on August 10? Or the feat of Althéa Laurin in taekwondo, who won the first Olympic victory in this discipline for France on the same day? On the track of the Stade de France, the French athletes were welcomed like heroes by an excited crowd, who lent themselves with as much energy as ever to the olas, the clapping or to Johnny Hallyday covers, celebrating more than ever the 64 French medals – a record.
Appointed flag bearers, rugby player Antoine Dupont and cyclist Pauline Ferrand-Prévot proudly parade around the stadium to a remix of the group’s songs Justiceafter having respectively won Les Bleus a gold medal in rugby 7s and one in cross-country mountain biking. The three French medallists in BMX Joris Daudet, Sylvain André and Romain Mahieu can also proudly display their range of gold, silver and bronze medals. Just like Valentin Madouas and Christophe Laporte, holders of the silver and bronze medals in road cycling, or Manon Apithy-Brunet and Sara Balzer, Olympic champion and vice-champion in individual sabre.
“We had passion”
The other nations, of course, are not left behind: the unbeatable Americans closed these Games with a record of 126 medals – including 40 gold -, far ahead of China (91 medals), Japan (45) and Australia (53). The Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis, for his part, put on a real show at the Stade de France, at only 24 years old, by retaining his Olympic title while beating his own world record by clearing a high bar of 6.25 meters on August 5, while the Ethiopian Tamirat Tola broke the Olympic marathon record by covering his 42 kilometers in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 26 seconds on August 10. All these feats were widely applauded by the public and the organizers, like Tony Estanguet, who received a standing ovation from the public when he spoke of “King Leon”. “We wanted fervor, we got passion. We wanted to dream, we got Léon Marchand,” he said at the end of the ceremony, reviving the crowd’s applause.
In four years, it will be on the other side of the Atlantic that the athletes will thrill the public; and the city of Los Angeles already seems ready to put on a show. Jumping from the roof of the Stade de France, actor Tom Cruise himself came to collect the Olympic flag from the hands of the mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass, before leaving the stadium on his legendary motorcycle. Live from Los Angeles, the Red Hot Chili Peppers took up the torch by giving a concert on the beach, accompanied by the artist Billie Eilish and the rapper Snoop Dog, back in America after participating in the Parisian competition. The future is assured.