The Paris Olympics set the bar high after an opening ceremony featuring Lady Gaga and Celine Dion and a stunning backdrop of Parisian landmarks along the River Seine. But the closing ceremony — held on a sweltering day in stark contrast to the torrential rain that kicked off the Games — also promises to be a big show with a Hollywood twist.
As part of the dazzling handover to Los Angeles in preparation for hosting the 2028 Summer Games, Tom Cruise is expected to wow the crowds with some epic stunts while Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg and the Red Hot Chili Peppers perform, and HER sings the US national anthem. Gold medallist swimmer Katie Ledecky and rower Nick Mead will be the flag bearers for the United States, whose team topped the Paris Olympics with 126 medals, beating China, the United Kingdom and France. The host nation broke a 100-year record with 64 medals, including 16 golds. Along with swimming champion Leon Marchand and judo star Teddy Riner, the French women’s basketball team did Team France proud on the final day with a thrilling match against Team USA to take home the silver medal.
Organised by Artistic Director Thomas Joly and Executive Director Thierry Ripoll, the event will also highlight French talent with prestigious bands Phoenix and Air as well as French-speaking Belgian pop star Angel.
Days after a foiled terror attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris is being held under a heightened security protocol that includes thousands of police, including nearly 2,000 agents from abroad. Up to 71,538 spectators will be in attendance, as well as 8,200 athletes from more than 200 delegations and 270 artists. In an interview with diverseRipoll said he and the other organizers spent “an incalculable amount of time” preparing a solid security plan with local authorities. The country had already been on high alert since the start of the war in Gaza last October.
Beyond the live music and acrobatics, the ceremony also promises some heart-wrenching moments. Joly, whose opening act drew praise from many but also criticism from conservatives for a scene that seemed to parody The Last Supper, has created an operatic, dystopian show that highlights the origins and values of the Olympic Games. Like the opening ceremony, which celebrated love and inclusion, the closing ceremony will have a similarly progressive message, with Ripoll saying he will use science fiction to raise “awareness of the fact that our world is fragile and that we need to preserve our values.”
A total of 9.5 million tickets were sold for the Olympics – 62% of which were bought by French nationals and the rest by international visitors, led by the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Ninety-five percent of all competitions were held at famous Parisian landmarks, including beach volleyball next to the Eiffel Tower, which attracted 450,000 spectators, including celebrities such as Nicole Kidman. The men's and women's cycling races through the streets of Paris were also prominent, drawing more than a million people, according to organizers. The Stade de France was one of the few indoor venues for the competitions, along with Paris's Place de la Défense and the Bercy Concert Hall.
Watch below the best moments from the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics, with live updates.
Zaho de Sagazan begins the events from the Tuileries Garden.
French singer-songwriter Zaho de Sagazan, who sang Greta Gerwig’s “Modern Love” at the Cannes Film Festival, opened the closing ceremony with a performance of French music legend Edith Piaf’s “Sous le Ciel de Paris” in the lush Jardin des Tuileries, home to the Olympic Cauldron – a hot air balloon lit by the Olympic flame. She was accompanied by the Handel-Hendrix Academy Choir.
The rising French star Leon Marchand He carries Olympic lantern
After donning a smart suit, French swimmer and Olympic star Leon Marchand — who won four gold medals and one silver at the Games — took the lantern containing the torch out of the cauldron and began carrying it into the Stade de France. His French fans greeted him with “the dolphin” chants of “Leon, Leon.” Marchand moved to Arizona three years ago to train with Bob Bowman, coach of 23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps.
