The Olympic Games will have been too short and the closing ceremony of Paris 2024 is fast approaching. It will be held on Sunday evening, and here is everything we already know about the new ceremony imagined by Thomas Jolly, which will transmit the Olympic spirit to Hollywood and Los Angeles 2028.
Published on: 07/08/2024 – 02:54
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With the exception of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe emerging from a pipe dressed as Super Mario in 2016, Olympic closing ceremonies are often less memorable than opening ceremonies.
It is an understatement to say that Thomas Jolly, after the breathtaking show imagined to open these Games, will be expected at the turning point on Sunday August 11, to close the history of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and symbolically pass on the flame to the Paralympic Games and the Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Also read: Zidane, Celine Dion, Lady Gaga and the Minions… An opening ceremony full of emotions
The director is back alongside the members of his crack team: screenwriter Fanny Herrero, novelist Leïla Slimani, historian Patrick Boucheron, playwright Damien Gabriac, choreographer Maud Le Pladec, composer Victor Le Masne and Daphné Bürki for costumes. A team that will also be in charge of the opening and closing of the Paris Paralympic Games (August 28 – September 8).
While the show is being prepared in the greatest secrecy, some information and clues have been released. Here is what we know about the closing ceremony of the Paris 2024 Games:
Where will the closing ceremony take place?
After a breathtaking opening ceremony set against the backdrop of the Seine and the heart of Paris, we returned to a more traditional venue for this type of event: the Stade de France in Saint-Denis. It was in this stadium, the largest in the country, north of Paris, that the Olympic rugby 7s tournaments and the athletics events took place.
Also read: “It’s crazy!”: at the 2024 Olympics, the atmosphere in the stadiums carries the Blues towards the medals
What time will the closing ceremony take place?
Shorter than the opening ceremony, the closing ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games will take place on Sunday, August 11 and should begin around 9 p.m. and end around 11 p.m. The last event of these Paris Games, the women’s basketball final, organized at 4 p.m. at Bercy, will have been over for just a few hours.
Also read: 2024 Olympic Games program and calendar
What will she tell?
Here too, we should see a return to a more traditional format, after an opening ceremony which broke all the rules.
Also read: In pictures: the highlights of the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris
The show is to be divided into three parts.
The first, classic, one hour long, will see the delegations and their flags parade for a final lap of the athletes’ track.
The second will be a show called “Records”. Director Thomas Jolly describes it as a dystopia, imagining a world where the Olympic Games have disappeared again and a new Pierre de Coubertin sets out to revive them.
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“This moment will remind us how precious these Olympic Games are, a unique and therefore fragile monument of sharing,” announces Thomas Jolly on the Paris 2024 website. “It is a very visual, very choreographic, very acrobatic spectacle with an operatic dimension to give a great visual fresco and say goodbye to athletes from all over the world. Together, let’s make this evening a memorable and conscious celebration, honoring the past and embracing the future.”
Finally, the ceremony will end with a sequence of about twenty minutes showing the transmission of the Olympic flag to the organizing committee of the Los Angeles Games, where they will be held in 2028. This last part is organized, as tradition dictates, by the future American hosts, who must be under pressure after the images offered by the Paris Games.
Also readIn pictures: Paris puts on its finest attire to host the Games
Who could make an appearance?
This is the most persistent rumor: Hollywood star Tom Cruise himself should put on a show for the passing of the flag. The actor and stuntman, known in particular for “Mission Impossible” – one of the episodes of which was filmed in Paris – should offer a spectacular performance at the Stade de France. Zip line? Rock climbing? Abseiling? Skydiving? Anything is possible with the actor who plays Ethan Hunt. He should then escape on a motorbike through the streets of Paris – a habit – then land in Los Angeles in a pre-recorded sequence.
On the music side, after Aya Nakamura and Céline Dion as opening acts, the groups Air and Phoenix will play Sunday evening as part of this ceremony. A nod to the “French touch” of electro pop, which was not very prominent at the opening ceremony.
Also read Piaf, Dassin, Aznavour, Hallyday… French song soundtrack of the Olympic Games
Finally, the wildest rumors are circulating: an appearance by Ariana Grande, seen in the stands during the Olympic fortnight, or even Beyonce. Just that.
Are there any places left?
The good news is that yes! The bad news is that you will have to break your piggy bank to attend. The first available seats are €250. You can also empty your savings account for the most expensive seats, which go up to €1,600.
