After weeks of intense competition, international athletes are set to say “au revoir” at the closing ceremony of the Paris 2024 Games on Sunday, 11 August.
Romania’s Prime Minister will not be in attendance
Marcel Ciolacu will not attend the final ceremony. He was not pleased with the way the women’s gymnastics individual event ended. After the competition, Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu and spectators thought she was winning the bronze medal. She and her coaches even raised their country’s flag and started celebrating. Meanwhile, US gymnast Jordan Chilis’ coaches appealed to the judges, which was successful. This raised Chilis’ score by 0.1 points, which was enough to knock Barbosa out of third place.
Closing Ceremony
In contrast to the rather ambitious, controversial and caused a lot of misunderstandings and nuances of the opening ceremony, the closing ceremony will follow a more traditional path. First, the head of the host nation’s state enters along with the president of the International Olympic Committee. Then the national anthem of the host country is played or sung as the host country’s flag is raised. Other traditional elements include a parade of flags, a parade of athletes and the handing over of the Olympic flag to the representative of the host city four years later.
The closing ceremony takes place at the Stade de France stadium, north of Paris, where the rugby and track and field events took place. The ceremony will include several traditional elements, among them final medal presentations, a parade of athletes and the handover of the Olympic flag to Los Angeles for the 2028 Games. The stadium has hosted several events during the Games, including record-breaking track races and a historic first leg for the US women’s rugby team.
The artistic director of the event is Thomas Jolly, the man responsible for the unique opening ceremony, however many details are secret, but Jolly has indeed offered something of a sneak preview, stating the ceremony will be a visual, very choreographed, very acrobatic show with an operatic dimension. In addition, viewers can expect to see over 100 acrobats and aerial performers, and the closing ceremony should also feature big-name musicians.
Since the United States, in the face of Los Angelas, will take on the role of the next host for the 2028 Olympics, Tom Cruise, who is currently in Europe on a film shoot, is set to play the lead role in the closing ceremony. He is due to perform an impressive sequence of stunts to mark the passage of the Games from Paris to Los Angeles, which will feature the passing of the Olympic flag from one city to the other. The cast list will see Californian A-list performers Billie Eilish and the Red Hot Chili Peppers performing from Los Angeles.
US Team flag bearers
Swimmer Katie Ledecky and rower Nick Mead will be the flag bearers during the closing ceremony. Ledecky is the most decorated female Olympian of all time, winning her 14th medal after running the 800m freestyle on August 3. She won the gold medal in the event, securing her ninth gold overall. Mead won the gold medal along with teammates Liam Corrigan, Michael Grady and Justin Best in the men’s rowing event. It was the first time since 1960 the US team won the tournament, CBS News reported.
Last day of the Olympic Games: Results
- The United States, one gold behind China in the battle at the top of the medals table, can add another when they face Italy in the women’s volleyball final.
- The US women’s basketball team is chasing a historic eighth consecutive gold against French rivals fuelled by the “love” of their fans. US women have won basketball gold at the last seven Olympic Games, starting with Atlanta in 1996.
- Weightlifting concludes with the battle to become the strongest woman at the Games in the over-81kg category, led by China’s world record holder Li Wenwen.
- Old rivals Serbia and Croatia meet for gold in men’s water polo in what could be a feisty affair.
- Four golds have yet to be decided in track cycling, while the title could be taken in the modern pentathlon.
- In the men’s handball final, Germany are in their first gold medal match in 20 years, where they will meet Denmark, who are in their third consecutive final.
- The Danes were champions in Rio 2016 but finished runners-up to France in Tokyo three years ago.
