Olympics 2024 Closing Ceremony Highlights: Paris Olympics come to close with star-studded ceremony

Paris closed out two and a half extraordinary weeks of Olympic sports and emotion with a boisterous, star-studded show in France’s national stadium, handing over hosting duties for the Summer Games to the next city in line: Los Angeles in 2028.

With an artistic show that celebrated Olympic themes, golden fireworks and thousands of athletes partying into the night, the closing ceremony put a final flourish to Paris' first Games in a century.

In their enthusiasm, crowds of athletes rushed the stage during a highlight video from the Games, and stadium announcements in French and English urged them to double back. Some of them stayed, surrounding Grammy-winning French pop-rock band Phoenix as they played, before security and volunteers cleared the stage.

More razzmatazz came: Hollywood star Tom Cruise descended from the top of the stadium to the 'Mission Impossible' theme song, shaking hands with athletes, before taking the Olympic flag from star gymnast Simone Biles, putting it on the back of motorcycle and driving out of the stadium.

In a speech, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach — who sat with French President Emmanuel Macron during the show — said the Games “can create a cultural peace that inspires the world,” noting that the athletes "respected each other even if your countries are divided by conflict."

For Los Angeles, topping Paris could be mission impossible. The French capital made spectacular use of its cityscape for its first Games in 100 years. The Eiffel Tower and other iconic monuments became Olympic stars in their own right, serving as backdrops and in some cases venues for competitions.

Emmy, Grammy, and Oscar winning artist H.E.R performed the US national anthem.

Mayor Bass has now handed the Olympic Flag to Simone Biles.

After the Olympic Anthem, the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo passes the the Olympic Flag to IOC President Thomas Bach which is then passed on to the Mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass.

Simone Biles joined Karen Bass on stage.

Mayors Hidalgo and Bass are the first women mayors to serve Paris and Los Angeles.

President of the Organising Committee for Paris 2024 and three-time canoe Olympic champion Tony Estanguet to address crowd. IOC chief Thomas Bach is standing just behind him.

Boxer Cindy Ngamba, Table tennis player Sun Yingsha, Marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge, Wrestler Mijaín López, Judoka Teddy Riner and Swimmer Emma McKeon have also joined them, representing the five continents.

An electrifying performance by French band Phoenix. They were joined by Angèle, Kaminsky, Air, Vannda, Ezra Koenig, rocking the athletes and the fans at the Stade de France stadium

After the Olympic Rings are finally fully hoisted, the athletes taking over the stage now. French band Phoenix get the party started at Stade de France.

Time for some enthralling performances. The Golden Voyager arrives! Amid dramatic music, a character is inspired by references from French history makes way to the centre of the stadium.

The volunteers, who had a huge role in the smooth running of the Paris Olympics are now being honoured.

Four newly elected IOC Athletes’ Commission members -- Allyson Felix (USA), Kim Bui (GER), Jess Fox (AUS), and Marcus Daniell (NZL) are handing out gifts to the volunteer representatives.

The victory ceremony of the last event of the athletics schedule is now underway -- a traditional protocol during the closing ceremony.

Women’s marathon medallists

Gold - Sifan Hassan, Netherlands

Silver - Tigst Assefa, Ethiopia

Bronze Hellen Obiri, Kenya

(Reuters photo)

(PTI photo)

The Stade de France stadium is buzzing. All the athletes from 205 countries are in the here. The fans have been continuously cheering for them. Superb atmosphere!

As athletes from different countries continue to make their way at Stade de France, a 70,000-strong fans continue to cheer them. Athletes waving at the fans, dancing and singing.

(Photo credit: Olympics)

So, the athletes' parade has begun at Stade de France. Players make way to the centre of the stadium with their country's flag flying high.

IOC President Thomas Bach and French President Emmanuel Macron were just introduced to the fans inside the Stade de France.

Time now for the France's anthem!

The French flag and the Olympic flag are now being hoisted alongside the anthem.

France’s swimming star Léon Marchand, who won 4 gold medals, is at the Jardins des Tuileries, where the Cauldron has been lit since the Opening Ceremony.

The 22-year-old is now taking the Olympic flame's to Stade de France for the closing ceremony.

The Closing Ceremony is being directed by Thomas Jolly, who also oversaw the Opening Ceremony.

More than 70,000 spectators are expected inside the stadium

270 artists and performers in the ceremony.

The Stade de France stadium is filling up quickly an the atmosphere is electric. We are just 20 minutes away from the start.

The closing ceremony for the Paris Olympics will bring out several stars: Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg and Red Hot Chili Peppers are scheduled to perform Sunday.

The all-star lineup will hit the stage as part of the handover to the 2028 Los Angeles Games. Each of the music artists is a California native, including H.E.R., who is expected to sing the U.S. national anthem live at the Stade de France.

"This is the biggest moment in LA28 history to date, as the Olympic flag passes from Paris to LA," said LA28 chairperson Casey Wasserman in a statement. "We are thrilled to feature the very best of LA with local artists and are grateful to Billie, H.E.R., the Chili Peppers and Snoop for their collaboration on what will be an incredible show to a global audience that will give fans a taste of what's to come in 2028."

Los Angeles will host the Olympics for the third time, with previous Games being held there in 1984 and 1932. It will be the first time the city will host the Paralympics.

Celebrated hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and star shooter Manu Bhaker are the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent in the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games.

Before homing in on Sreejesh, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) chief PT Usha spoke with Neeraj Chopra, and she said even the superstar javelin thrower wanted to see the retiring legend as flag-bearer.

The legendary Sreejesh retired from the game after India's bronze medal-winning feat at the Games, bringing to an end a glorious career spanning 18 years.

The IOA had earlier named Bhaker as the female flag-bearer after she became the first Indian athlete post Independence to win multiple medals in a single Olympic Games. She won bronze medals in the women's 10m air pistol and the 10m air pistol mixed team (with Sarabjot Singh).

China delivered their best performance at a Summer Olympics since the 2008 Games on home soil, winning the joint most gold medals with the United States and only missing out on topping the standings on silver medal count.

The 40 golds was an all time high for Games outside China and was achieved despite immense pressure and tightened scrutiny resulting from a doping row involving some of its swimmers.

Chinese athletes strengthened their dominance in diving and table tennis with clean sweeps of all the titles on offer, adding two golds on the badminton court, five on the weightlifting platform and five at the shooting range.

Breakthroughs were made with first gold medals in artistic swimming, rhythmic gymnastics, women's boxing and in singles tennis.

The United States of America (USA) emerged victorious atop the medal table at the Paris Olympics, narrowly edging out arch-rivals China in a dramatic final day of competition. The race for supremacy came down to the last event of the Games, the women’s basketball final, where the USA secured a nail-biting 67-66 victory over host nation France.

This triumph not only clinched the gold medal for the basketball team but also ensured that the USA maintained its streak of topping the Olympic medal table for the fourth consecutive Games.

The final tally saw the United States finish with 126 medals, including 40 gold, 44 silver, and 42 bronze.

China, despite dominating in several key disciplines, finished with 91 medals, also including 40 gold. The USA's superior overall medal count ultimately tipped the balance in their favor.

India’s performance, though not among the top ranks, was noteworthy, with the country finishing 71st with six medals, including five bronze and a silver.

However, their tally could still increase, as wrestler Vinesh Phogat has appealed her disqualification in the women’s 50kg wrestling final. Phogat was disqualified for being 100 grams overweight during the weigh-in on the day of the final.

The United States topped the final medals table at the Paris Olympics on Sunday although they finished locked on 40 golds with China.

The Americans finished with a total of 126 medals with China in second place on 91 after the last event of the Games, which saw the US women's basketball team secure a record eighth gold.

To the surprise of many French, a genuinely euphoric Olympic fever gripped the host nation during the Games.

The French had a new golden boy to celebrate with swimmer Leon Marchand emerging as the king of the pool, winning four golds in the opening week, before French judoka Teddy Riner reigned supreme as he claimed his fifth Olympic gold medal.

Simone Biles put her twisties misery of Tokyo behind her, making a long-awaited Olympic return in front of a star-studded crowd. She arrived the world's most decorated gymnast and left with a further four gold medals for her trophy cabinet.

Breaking made its Olympic debut -- to some derision on social media -- whilst 3x3 basketball, sports climbing, skateboarding and surfing made their second appearances.

The IOC will be relieved that no major scandals erupted, although it did have to grapple with some controversies.

A storm around gender eligibility hit the women's boxing competition, revealing the toxic relations between the IOC and a widely discredited International Boxing Association. Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, one of those at the centre of the dispute, won gold and the respect of her silver-medal rival.

Meanwhile, a $1.5 billion clean-up of the Seine rewarded Paris with the optics of triathlon and marathon swimmers competing in the river through central Paris, without a wave of illness ensuing -- even if bacteria levels forced some training to be cancelled.

But for all the sporting triumph and drama, the biggest star of the show for many was the City of Light itself and the fabulous backdrop it lent to much of the competition, from the Eiffel Tower to the gardens of the opulent Palace of Versailles.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who will be the first Black woman mayor to receive the Olympic flag, acknowledged that the French capital had set a high bar while expressing confidence that her city would prove itself a worthy successor.

"It will be a challenge but it will be a challenge we can step up to," Bass told reporters this week. "I think our Games will really show the diversity and the international character of our city."

LA28 has said musicians and native Californians Billie Eilish, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Snoop Dogg, the U.S. rapper who has been contributing to NBC Primetime's coverage of the Games, will be performing in the closing ceremony.

Grammy-winning artist H.E.R. will perform the U.S. national anthem live in Paris, while rumours have swirled around Paris that Tom Cruise will also be involved.

"This is the biggest moment in LA28 history to date, as the Olympic flag passes from Paris to LA,” LA28 Chairperson and President Casey Wasserman said in a statement.

Paris will bring down the curtain on a Summer Games that brought dazzling sport to the heart of the French capital and restored the Olympics' mojo, handing over the baton to Los Angeles at the Stade de France national stadium.

The ceremony's star-studded line up signals how Los Angeles will hope to lean into one of its key selling points: its multiculturalism and the razzle dazzle of Hollywood.