The Paris Olympics are over. But there is no need to be sad, the organizers have prepared a plethora of great musical and action moments to fill the closing ceremony. The French organizers handed over the Olympic flag to the next organizers, the mayor of Los Angeles took it over. And while the opening ceremony took place on the Seine and its surroundings, the end of the games was traditionally in the stadium. The flag bearers of the 205 teams that took part in the Games, as well as Tom Cruise and others, came to the Stade de France. The organizers promised more than a hundred artists, acrobats, dancers and circus performers.
A large part of the ceremony was filled by a mysterious figure in gold, as well as a strange person in a hood, who we already met during the opening event. But they were also supplemented by acrobats and dancers and, above all, a story about a world in which there are no Olympic Games, so the circles must be rediscovered.
One of the highlights of the dramatic part of the show was provided by the French tenor Benjamin Bernheim, who sang Hymn na Apollonaan ancient composition describing the birth of the Greek sun god on Delos. He was accompanied by Alain Roche, who played a vertically suspended piano while wearing a coat made from VHS tapes.
A floating piano steals the show at the #Olympics closing ceremony…
French tenor Benjamin Bernheim sang Fauré’s ‘Hymn to Apollo’ alongside gravity-defying pianist Alain Roche, whose grand piano was suspended vertically within the Stade de France. 🎹 pic.twitter.com/QG7cpp9D32
— Classic FM (@ClassicFM) August 11, 2024
Among the concerts, for example, the French indie band Phoenix with frontman Thomas Mars (by the way, the husband of the famous film director Sofia Coppola) attracted attention. They sang songs Flour mania or If I Ever Feel Better and the athletes, who had previously entered the stadium with their flags, became enthusiastic fans for a while. Although they were warned to leave the stage, many of them stayed, taking selfies and picking like any audience member at a concert. DJ Kavinsky also captivated the crowd with the song Nightcall or Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koening.
Of course, there was also the handing over of the flag. The next Summer Olympics will be held in 2028 in California, so Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo handed over the flag to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. She was accompanied by gymnastics star Simone Biles, who won three gold and one silver medal at the games this year.
🇫🇷🤝🇺🇸
From Paris to LA. The Olympic flag is officially handed over! 🏳️#Paris2024 #ClosingCeremony pic.twitter.com/APPVwv17YV
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 11, 2024
And came one of the highlights. The flag was then taken over by actor Tom Cruise, who went down to the Stade de France, grabbed the flag, got on a motorbike and rode off into the night. The scene was interrupted by a pre-recorded video in which Cruise, in addition to the motorcycle, also replaces the parachute and seems to move from Paris to Los Angeles, where the Olympic rings are incorporated into the iconic Hollywood sign.
Subsequently, the ceremony continued on the beach near Los Angeles. The band Red Hot Chilli Peppers, singer Billie Eilish and rapper Snoop Dogg performed there, along with Dr. Dre.
The ceremony was then moved back to the Paris stadium, where everything gradually ended. Swimmer Léon Marchand brought a lantern with the Olympic flame. Together with six other athletes, he extinguished the flame.
For the Czech Republic, the Summer Olympics in Paris were the least successful in history. In the order of nations, the Czech expedition finished in 28th place and brought home five medals. Tennis players Kateřina Siniaková and Tomáš Macháč took care of gold in the mixed doubles, as well as speed canoeists Martin Fuksa and Josef Dostál. The bronze was then surprised by the corduroy team consisting of Jiří Beran, Jakub Jurka, Martin Rubeš and Michal Čupr, as well as javelin thrower Nikola Ogrodníková.
The Olympics in Paris over the course of two weeks had a number of viral moments that entertained the Internet. American gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik, who received the nickname Pommel Horse Guybecame a star thanks to his entertaining frolicking and stunning performance on a horse. The French high jumper got burned again in the semi-finals when he hit the bar with his natural. And the touching story of the tennis players Siniaková and Macháč, who just a few days after the alleged breakup, won gold in the doubles, caused a sensation.
After all the transphobia, witch-hunting, and the despicable and unsportsmanlike disrespect shown by a handful of athletes – let THIS image be the one that stays with you:
After Imane Khelif won her gold medal bout her opponent, Yang Liu of China, embraced her with a smile. pic.twitter.com/vYjkQaailZ
— Scot 🇵🇸 (@scotwithat) August 9, 2024
But in addition to entertainment, the Olympics also brought a strong dose of controversy. Undoubtedly, the case of Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has resonated the most, due to her high testosterone levels. The Algerian boxer was the unequivocal winner in her match against Italy’s Angela Carini in Paris, leading to further debate on social media about her gender identity.
In response to what they said was an unfair match, some users questioned the rules of the contests and referred to Khelif as a man, despite the fact that she is biologically female. After several days of transphobic comments, Khelif decided to file a lawsuit in France due to online harassment and eventually won gold in her discipline at the Olympics.
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