Paris Olympics 2024 Closing Ceremony concludes with star-studded show, Los Angeles takes over as next host

The Paris Olympics 2024 ended on a glittering note after a dazzling, star-studded closing ceremony on Sunday, featuring a plethora of superstar athletes and artists celebrating the sport at its highest level. The ceremony got underway with a classic musical performance and the France swimmer Leon Marchand, bringing the Olympic flame in a lantern to the Stade de France where the closing ceremony was being held.

The Parade of Nations started inside the stadium to the delight and cheers of thousands of excited fans gathered inside. The flag-bearers of the IOC Refugee and Olympic Team and France led the way.

Indian shooter Manu Bhaker, the two-time bronze medallist during the Paris sporting extravaganza and legendary hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who played a crucial role in India's second successive bronze medal at the Olympics with his otherworldly, clutch goalkeeping skills, made their way to the stadium with Indian flag in their hands as flag-bearers. The Olympics also marked Sreejesh's final international tournament for India.

Inside the stadium, the final medal ceremony of the Olympics 2024 was held for the women's marathon competition, which was a great and symbolic way to conclude the first-ever Olympics with full gender parity.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach and World Athletics President Sebastian Coe felicitated the medal winners.

The closing ceremony continued entertaining and mesmerising fans with a treat-on-eyes light show and a performance by The Golden Voyager, a character inspired by references from French history, including the Spirit of the Bastille, as per Olympics.com. As a tradition, the Greek flag was raised during the performance, reminding people that the roots of the multi-sport event lay in Greece, which hosted the first-ever Olympics in 1896 at Athens.

Following the footsteps of Pierre de Coubertin, also known as the 'Father of Modern Olympics', the Golden Voyager unearthed vestiges of past Olympics in order to infuse a new life into them. During the show, several symbols marking the founding of the games and their values of unity and peace were discovered.

In an impressively choreographed performance, the Golden Voyager discovered the Olympic rings and they were hoisted into the air right in the middle of the stadium. These Olympic rings represent five continents that feature in the sporting event. During the performance, French pianist and opera singer Benjamin Bernheim sang the 'Hymn to Apollo' while Alain Roche played on a piano while being suspended vertically in the air.

After this brilliant set of performances, the French indie-rock band Pheonix, consisting of Thomas Mars, Deck d'Arcy, Christian Mazzalai and Laurent Brancowitz, delivered banger after banger for the fans and athletes in attendance, filling up the air with sounds of drums and electric guitars, which musically represent the energy athletes bring to the Olympics by putting some of their career-best performances, giving the sport every ounce of their being at the grandest stage of them all!

French electronic artist Kavinsky also performed his 'Nightcall' along with rock band.

Following these performances, the Paris 2024 Organising Committee president Tony Estanguet addressed the crowd. On the stage, he was joined by six athletes representing the five continents and the Refugee Olympic Team. He was also accompanied by the IOC president Bach. Tony congratulated and thanked all the athletes for their performances and said they all will be reunited during the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The athletes accompanying Tony included:

-Boxer Cindy Ngamba (Cameroon), one bronze medal, representing the Refugee Olympic Team
-Table tennis player Sun Yingsha (China), three gold medals, two silver medals, representing Asia
-Marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya), two gold medals, one silver medal, one bronze medal, representing Africa
-Wrestler Mijain Lopez (Cuba), five gold medals, representing the Americas
-Judoka Teddy Riner (France), five gold medals, two bronze medals, representing Europe
-Swimmer Emma McKeon (Australia), six gold medals, three silver medals, five bronze medals, representing Oceania.

Bach also addressed the crowd, hailing the games as a "start of new era".

"Your performances were amazing. You competed fiercely against each other. Every contest on the edge of perfection. Every performance sparking excitement around the world. You showed us what greatness we humans are capable of. The Olympic Games Paris 2024 were a celebration of the athletes and of sport at its best. The first Olympic Games delivered completely under our Olympic Agenda reforms: younger, more urban, more inclusive, more sustainable. The first Olympic Games with full gender parity. These were sensational Olympic Games from start to finish - or dare I say: Seine-sational Games," added Bach.

After these speeches started off the Olympic Flag Handover Ceremony, to start the transition from the Paris Olympics 2024 to Los Angeles 2028, movement of the Olympic movement from France to the USA. The Olympic flag was passed to from the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, to IOC President Thomas Bach, then to Mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass. Simon Biles, one of the greatest Olympians ever from the USA and worldwide, joined the stage to receive the flag and waved it.

The Grammy Award winning R&B singer H.E.R started off the transition to the LA2028 Olympics with her melodic singing of her rendition of the the American National Anthem, the Star-Spangled Banner.

Legendary American actor Tom Cruise made a stunning entry to the ceremony, rappelling from the roof of the stadium. Bass and Biles gave the flag to Cruise who took off in a bike.

Cruise helped take the flag from Paris to Los Angeles, via via the streets of Paris and the hills of Hollywood. The famous Hollywood sign was also displayed, with Red Hot Chilli Peppers performing their song "Can't Stop" at the Venice Beach in California. As the flag was transported from Paris to Hollywood in LA, some cameos came from friends and Olympians Kate Courtney (mountain bike, 2020), Michael Johnson (track and field athletics, four-time Olympic champion, 1992-2000), and Jagger Eaton (skateboarding, two-time Olympic medallist, 2020-2024).

Also, the multi-time Grammy Award winner and 22-year-old pop sensation Billie Eilish performed her hit song "Birds of a Feather" with her brother Finneas.

Then, the legendary American hip-hop duo of rapper Snoop Dogg and rapper-music producer Dr Dre, best known for some classic West Coast Hip Hop music from the 1990s, performed some of their most iconic hits, including their smash hit 'The Next Episode' and "Drop It Like It's Hot".

To mark the end of the ceremony, Leon Marchand arrived at the Stade De France with the Olympic flame in hand and Bach declared the Games as officially closed. The flame was blown out by Marchand after it.

"Under tradition, I call upon the youth of the world to assemble four years from now in Los Angeles, United States of America, to celebrate with all of us the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad," President Bach added.

The ceremony ended with Yseult, a French artist,The singing the interpretation of legendary Frank Sinatra's classic, 'My Way', which was originally based on a French song, "Comme d'habitude." Fireworks at the Stade De France concluded the ceremony on a high!

USA ended the Paris Olympics 2024 at the top of the medal tally with a total of 126 medals, including 40 gold medals, 44 silver and 42 bronze medals on Sunday.

In second place is China, who ended their campaign with 40 gold, 27 silver, and 24 bronze medals, making it a total of 91 medals. The third place was bagged by Japan, who took home 20 golds, 12 silver and 13 bronze medals, which is a total of 45 medals. The Indian contingent finished at the 71st spot, with a silver medal and five bronze medals to their name, bringing home a total of six medals.

A contingent of 117 Indian athletes pursued medals and sporting glory at the marquee event.

India secured a total of six medals at the marquee event, including one silver and five bronze, according to Olympics.com.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from ANI)