This Sunday marked the closing ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, putting an end to 17 thrilling days worth of exciting athletic contests, patriotic uniforms, and, of course, A-list star sightings in the crowds. (See all of the highlights here.) It was certainly a successful showing for Team USA, which left the Paris Games with 126 medals—40 golds, 44 silvers, and 42 bronzes—the most of any competing country.
This evening’s concluding ceremony took place at the Stade de France, an 80,000-seat stadium that, over the last two weeks, hosted the Games’ track and field and rugby sevens competitions. Among those tapped to perform? Billie Eilish, H.E.R., the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Snoop Dogg. (The next Summer Olympics are set for Los Angeles, after all.) But they weren’t the evening’s only entertainment: In an official statement released beforehand, organisers promised that the closing ceremony—titled Records and artistic-directed by Thomas Jolly, who also handled the opening ceremony—would also feature “over a hundred performers, acrobats, dancers, and circus artists.” Needless to say, they all delivered.
Below, more of the best moments from the 2024 Olympics closing ceremony.
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The picturesque start to the evening
French singer Zaho de Sagazan opened the ceremony with an elegant rendition of Édith Piaf’s “Sous le ciel de Paris” in the Tuileries Garden, the Olympic cauldron serving as her backdrop. After de Sagazan’s performance, French swimmer Léon Marchand could be seen removing the lantern containing the Olympic flame from the cauldron and carrying it toward the Stade de France.
Then, inside the stadium proper, came a moving orchestral arrangement of La Marseillaise, followed by the procession of athletes—during which swimmer Katie Ledecky and rower Nick Mead carried the flag for Team USA. (While Ledelcy won her record-breaking ninth career gold medal in Paris—becoming the most decorated American woman in Olympic history—Mead was part of the first American team to win the coxless men’s four since 1980.)
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Before a crowd of some 70,000 people, Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands recieves her third career gold medal
In the women’s marathon—one of the final events of the 2024 Games—Ethiopian-Dutch middle- and long-distance runner Sifan Hassan set a new Olympic record, finishing in 2:22:55. She got to celebrate that achievement in front of virtually everyone—upwards of 70,000 people, including some 9,000 athletes—on Sunday evening, recieving her gold medal on a podium in the Stade de France during the closing ceremony. (Earlier in the Games, she’d also won bronze medals in the women’s 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter.)
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The dazzling “rebirth” of the Olympic
A spiky Golden Voyager; the strange hooded figure we first met during the opening ceremony; scores of acrobatic, breakdancing “archaeologists”; the Winged Victory of Samothrace; and French tenor Benjamin Bernheim singing “Hymn to Apollo”—accompanied by Alain Roche, playing a vertically suspended piano in a coat made from VHS tape reels—were on hand for a segment of the ceremony imagining a dystopian scenario in which the world had no Olympic Games (gasp!), and the rings had to be discovered anew. It was all highly dramatic—and quite beautiful.
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Phoenix, Air, and Ezra Koenig performing
Phoenix, the French indie band led by frontman Thomas Mars—husband of one Sofia Coppola and father of one Romy Mars—took the stage of the Stade de France to sing “Lisztomania,” “If I Ever Feel Better,” and “1901.” Though athletes had been warned to clear the stage, many of them lingered to sing along and take selfies.
Accompanying Phoenix were Belgian singer Angèle and French DJ Kavinsky, who performed the song “Nightcall”; fellow French band Air, for a rendition of “Playground Love” with Mars; Cambodian rapper VannDa, who added a verse to “If I Ever Feel Better”; and Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koening, who joined Phoenix for their 2022 song “Tonight.” At the end of their set, Mars jumped into the crowd as confetti rained down on the stage.
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The passing of the Olympic flag
In a nod to the next Summer Games, which will be held in Los Angeles in 2028, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo passed the Olympic flag to Los Angeles mayor Karan Bass, accompanied onstage by American gymnast Simone Biles, who won three gold medals and one silver medal in Paris this year. Shortly after, H.E.R. stepped out to perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” (with her signature guitar, of course).
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Cue: Tom Cruise!
Then, one of America’s greatest action stars, Tom Cruise, flew in from the stadium roof (naturally). After shaking hands with some adoring fans, he climbed onto a motorcycle—with the Olympic flag in tow—and zoomed out into the night. At that moment, the broadcast cut to a pre-taped video showing Cruise as he biked, sky-dived, and parachuted his way from Paris to LA, where he proceeded to add the iconic Olympics rings onto the Hollywood sign.
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A star-studded Venice Beach party
Next up, a big ol’ fashioned Venice Beach beach party kept the festivities going—with some of Hollywood’s biggest musical acts on hand perform for the crowd. The Red Hot Chili Peppers turned in a rocking rendition of “Can’t Stop”; Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas, both dressed in Polo Ralph Lauren, performed their smash hit “Birds of a Feather”; and, to top it all off, Snoop Dogg rolled in with “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” followed up by “The Next Episode” with Dr. Dre.
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Yseult closes the show with a bang—literally
Finally, Yseult brought the drama—and fashion!—to the very end of the ceremony: The French singer stepped up to perform a powerful rendition of “My Way,” popularised in 1969 by Frank Sinatra. Even better yet? The custom black Dior look and Chopard jewels she wore to do it. (Can you say classic glamour?) We simply couldn’t have chosen a better grand finale—especially with the burst of fireworks surrounding her!
This article was originally published on Vogue.com.
