All good things come to an end. Seen at the very beginning of the ceremony, Léon Marchand returned to put an end to it. The four-time champion medalist returned to the Stade de France shortly before midnight, with what remained of the flame in his hands.
He thus advanced towards the six athletes in the center of the stage. French judoka Teddy Riner representing Europe, Australian swimmer Emma McKeon for Oceania, Cuban wrestler Mijain Lopez for the Americas, Kenyan athlete Eliud Kipchoge for Africa, table tennis player Sun Yingsha for Asia and boxer Cindy Winner Djankeu Ngamba for the refugee Olympic team surrounded Léon Larchand. With one breath, the seven athletes extinguished the Olympic flame.
A moment which ended with the speech of Thomas Bach, President of the IOC. “I declare the Paris 2024 Games closed”
Fifteen days of intense emotions. Of joys and disappointments. From the opening ceremony to the closing ceremony, the 2024 Olympic Games will have dazzled the world, and shifted the capital into an almost parallel dimension. As if to extend this moment, from La Courneuve to Paris, we gathered to commune one last time, Sunday evening. At the Stade de France, obviously, but also in the celebration areas, in the bars…
On the square in front of the Hôtel-de-Ville, the largest organized gathering place in Paris, the crowd gathered once again. Maximum capacity reached, we must wait at the entrances to hope to enter and admire the show on the site's two giant screens. “It’s the last day of the Games, and we said to ourselves that it was the time to come and feel the atmosphere,” exclaims Julia, from Ivry-sur-Seine, alongside her sister twin. “It’s something to see the closing ceremony here. I'm not disappointed. The place is amazing, I love the atmosphere and the energy here. People talk together,” enthuses Mel, an American tourist attracted by the spotlights.
