After 17 days of breathtaking sporting action set against the backdrop of iconic Parisian landmarks from the Eiffel Tower to the Chateau de Versailles, the Paris Olympic Games 2024 have come to an end.
The USA finished on top of the overall medal table with a total of 126 medals, with China in second place on 91. Both USA and China won 40 gold medals each. Australia finished fourth with 18 gold medals (our most ever) and a total of 53 medals.
In contrast to the rain-soaked opening ceremony, Sunday’s festivities started as a golden sunset bathed the French capital.
Australian sailor Matt Wearn and swimmer Kaylee McKeown (obscured) carry the Australian flag during the Olympic games closing ceremony in Paris. Source: AP / Natacha Pisarenko
With the 329 medal events finished, the 9,000 athletes — many wearing their shiny medals — and team staffers filled the arena, dancing and cheering to thumping beats.
The closing ceremony started with France’s swimming hero Leon Marchand — winner of four gold medals at these Games — collecting the Olympic flame from the cauldron in the Tuileries Gardens to begin its roughly 9km journey to the Stade de France.
Local rugby hero Antoine Dupont — who led the host nation to a rugby sevens gold medal in one of the early highlights of the Games — carried a French flag into the stadium as partying athletes swarmed the field.
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said the Paris Games had been “sport at its best”.
“These were sensational Olympic Games from start to finish,” Bach said. “Or dare I say: Seine-sational Games”, the IOC chief quipped in a pun about the river flowing through Paris which was the scene of the opening ceremony.
“Dear French friends, you have fallen in love with the Olympic Games. And we have fallen in love with all of you,” Bach added.
Having announced his intention to leave office next year, Bach also struck a more sombre note as he appealed for “a culture of peace” in a war-torn world.
“We know that the Olympic Games cannot create peace, but the Olympic Games can create a culture of peace that inspires the world,” he said.
“Let us live this culture of peace every single day.”
From the City of Light to the City of Angels
Then came a change of gear, courtesy of US actor Tom Cruise.
He descended from the top of the stadium on a wire to electric guitar riffs from the movie Mission Impossible in front of 71,500 spectators.
He then took the Olympic flag from star US gymnast Simone Biles and Los Angeles Karen mayor Bass, fixed it to the back of a motorcycle and roared out of the arena.
In a preview of what the world might expect when the Games head to Los Angeles in 2028, Cruise was then shown boarding a plane and skydiving into the Californian city.
Cruise was seen at the iconic Hollywood sign, with three circles added to the O’s of the Hollywood sign to create five interlaced Olympic rings.
On Venice Beach in Los Angeles, singer Billie Eilish, band the Red Hot Chili Peppers and rappers Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre kept the party going.
Dogg has been a popular mainstay during the Olympics — for his support of the US Olympic team, casual visits to the Louvre museum and wearing matching equestrian outfits with Martha Stewart.
The closing spectacle marked the start of the four-year countdown to the LA Games in 2028.
The Paris Paralympic Games 2024 will take place between August 28 and September 8.
