11 details you may have missed during the Paris 2024 closing ceremony (2024)

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Around 80,000 people attended the closing ceremony.

The closing ceremony was held at the Stade de France, France's largest stadium, with a maximum capacity of about 80,000 people.

An estimated 71,000 fans were present at the event, so alongside the artists and athletes who attended, the stadium was near capacity.

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The ceremony opened with the unofficial anthem of Paris.

French musician Zaho de Sagazan gave the first musical performance of the event.

She sang "Under the Sky of Paris," a song the ceremony hosts described as Paris' unofficial anthem. Legendary singer Édith Piaf popularized the song in 1954 after it debuted in the movie of the same name in 1951.

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There was a section for “athlete karaoke.”

Olympic athletes bonded across teams as they sang to songs playing in the stadium before the live bands performed.

The athletes and the crowd were particularly spirited as they sang the fitting Queen song "We Are the Champions."

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The history of the Olympics was honored through artistic performances.

Artistic director Thomas Jolly, who also did the opening ceremony, highlighted the history of the Olympics throughout the ceremony's artistic performances.

A light show near the beginning, depicting chariots and athletes, was said to honor Pierre de Coubertin, the "father of the modern Olympic Games."

De Coubertin helped organize the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and served as the IOC president from 1896 to 1925.

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One performance followed the story of the Olympics being rediscovered.

A sequence starring a golden-clad figure told the story of the Olympics returning to a dystopian future without the Games.

The announcers called the figure the Golden Voyager. After they descended from the ceiling and uncovered the Olympic rings, performers around it lept through the hoops.

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The masked figure and silver knight made an appearance.

Throughout the opening ceremony, a mysterious masked figure and a silver knight ran around Paris with the Olympic torch.

During the closing ceremony, they both reappeared in a sequence where they helped the Golden Voyager discover the Olympic rings.

The rings were then lifted into the air and lit while fireworks went off behind them.

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Alain Roche played piano while suspended in the air.

Swiss pianist Roche played "Hymn to Apollo," accompanying French opera singer Benjamin Bernheim.

Roche and his piano were suspended in the air, and the pianist even played the instrument vertically. Over the years, the musician has become known for this unique performance style.

The hosts noted that Roche was wearing a long jacket made from VHS tape reels, all from recycled materials in Paris.

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Athletes swarmed the stage as Phoenix performed.

When French band Phoenix performed, athletes ran to the small stage — and some even started climbing onto the platform.

Announcements in French and English asked the athletes to leave the stage, but the band embraced their presence. Lead singer Thomas Mars even crowd-surfed into a group of Olympians.

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The Olympic flag was lowered and handed off to the mayor of LA.

LA Mayor Karen Bass received the Olympic flag after it was lowered in Paris while HER sang the US national anthem.

The tribute was meant to signify the passing of the touch, per se, as the 2028 Games are set to take place in LA.

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Tom Cruise jumped from the top of the stadium to retrieve the Olympic flag.

Cruise was spotted at several events throughout the Games, including the gold-medal women's soccer game on Saturday, and he stuck around for the closing ceremony.

After Bass took the flag, the actor jumped on a zipline from the stadium roof to the ground to retrieve it — an act reminiscent of his famous "Mission Impossible" movies.

Cruise then rode a motorbike out of the stadium before pre-filmed footage of the flag making its way to LA played on the screen.

During this scene, the Olympic rings were even shown on the famous Hollywood sign.

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The ceremony ended in LA.

US musicians took to the stage in LA for the final performances of the evening.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg, and Dr. Dre all entertained crowds in front of a large LA 28 sign. To honor the transition between the cities, the "A" was made up of the French and US flags.