The Olympics concluded on a star-studded night at the Stade de France as Paris 2024 delivered a memorable closing ceremony.
But the spirit of the Games returned over the last two weeks and Paris provided an evening that included Tom Cruise, Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg and Red Hot Chili Peppers as the baton was passed onto Los Angeles 2028.
Team USA topped the medal table, while France enjoyed its best return in terms of medals in 124 years, behind Leon Marchand in the pool.
As for Team GB, there were more medals on the final day to conclude a successful Games, securing one more medal overall but eight fewer gold medals than at Tokyo 2020.
Relive all the action from Sunday night’s closing ceremony below:
Olympics 2024 – latest medals and results
- Paris 2024 puts on star-studded closing ceremony to conclude Olympics
- Paris hands over to LA ahead of 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles
- Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg and Red Hot Chili Peppers perform in LA
- Tom Cruise enters stadium from roof before driving motorcyle through streets of Paris with Olympic flag
Team GB swap medals for moments as Paris leaves new Olympics blueprint
23:20
Jamie Braidwood
“All the travel books will tell you to avoid Paris in August - it’s too crowded, too hot and everything is shut.
“Well, perhaps, these last two weeks have taught us to forget all those stereotypes about the French, with their smiling waiters, reliable public transport and cooling rain.
“And as for their great summer tradition of strikes and riots, unfortunately that moved a little closer to home.
“Whisper it quietly but Paris saw London 2012 and raised it.”
Final reflections on Paris 2024, by James Toney.
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
23:16
Jamie Braidwood
C’est fin.
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
23:08
Jamie Braidwood
A wonderful rendition of My Way from Yseult, followed by a final, spectacular firework display, around the roof of the Parc des Princes, brings the night to a close.
Well done, Paris. You did do the Olympics your way, and it was brilliant.
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
22:58
Jamie Braidwood
That was perfect from LA. They got just who they wanted to kick start the party ahead of 2028!
Now we’re back to Paris, as Leon Marchand finally completes his long walk with the Olympic flame.
He is cradling the lantern so carefully!
Thomas Bach declares the Olympics of Paris 2024 are closed... and Marchand blows out the flame to symbolise it!
That was beautiful.
Over to 2028: Paris, you have been superb, Los Angeles you have a big act to follow.
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
22:52
Jamie Braidwood
Time for the MVP of Paris 2024. He’s been everywhere in Paris, but now he’s back home!
Snoop Dogg takes to the stage in Long Beach, with Drop it Like It’s Hot.
AND HE’S GOT DR DRE ON STAGE TOO!
Two West Coast legends, reuniting once again for The Next Episode.
Compton, Long Beach, Inglewood, South Central out to the Westside, It’s California Love.
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
22:50
Jamie Braidwood
Over to their left, by a beach hut, it’s Billie Eilish!
Eilish looks effortlessly cool in the LA heat, with a baseball cap and Ralph Lauren polo as she sings Birds of a Feather.
What a voice.
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
22:46
Jamie Braidwood
With the Olympic flag now delivered to Long Beach with help from Michael Johnson, we’re in LA now, bright blue sky, golden beach...
... and the Red Hot Chili Peppers!
The party has moved on from Paris to LA.
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
22:42
Jamie Braidwood
Ok this is getting wild now. Tom Cruise sets off through the streets, meeting a jumbo jet at a hanger.
The heist of the Olympic flag complete, he skydives over the Californian hills and into the north Los Angeles.
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
22:38
Jamie Braidwood
TOM CRUISE IS ON THE ROOF TOM CRUISE IS ON THE ROOF
Top Gun launches himself into the Stade de France, what an entrance!
He is mobbed by athletes befroe leaping onto the stage, he shakes hands with Simone Biles, picks up the Olympic flag...
and then... and then... TAKES OFF ON A MOTORBIKE
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
22:37
Jamie Braidwood
Ok yeah it’s America time. A guitar-filled, power-ballad of the United States national anthem now fills Paris, as H.E.R. belts out the words.
She nails it! What a start.
Now, over to LA...
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
22:32
Jamie Braidwood
A few more items to tick off before the fun begins in.
First, the Olympic anthem. Then, the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, will join Thomas Bach on stage, while the Mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, joins from the opposite direction. Simone Biles is now on stage too!
This is where the handover takes place between Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028, with the Olympic flag passing from one city to the next.
Then, when that’s over, the artistic segment of the LA 2028 will begin.
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
22:23
Jamie Braidwood
Thomas Bach thanks the Olympic athletes for inspiring “billions” around the world. He says: “Thank you for making us believe in a better world for everyone”.
“You showed us what greatness humans are capable of.,” he says. “You lived peacefully under one roof in the Olympic village, you created a culture of peace.
“This is why I call on everyone to let us live this culture of peace every single day.”
Bach praises the Olympics for being “younger, more inclusive, more sustainable” and the “the first Games with first gender parity”.
He then throws a big Dad joke in, adding “you could call it, the SEINE-sational Games”.
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
22:18
Jamie Braidwood
Tony Estanguet, President of the Organising Committee for the Paris 2024 Games, thanks those who have made Paris 2024 a “great success” - from those working on the ground to run the transport links, the emergency services, and the security staff who ensured the Games were safe.
He thanks the “magical” athletes - and says Paris 2024 broke viewership figures as well as being the Olympics with the most marriage proposals. Appropriate for the City of Love.
Estanguet ends his speech by looking forward to the start of the Paralympics, which begin on August 28 in Paris!
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
22:06
Jamie Braidwood
We have to get through some speeches now. Then we’ll be handing over to LA.
We see the journey of the Olympic torch to Paris. In a few moments, Leon Marchand will bring the lantern back into the Stade de France.
We will hear from Tony Estanguet, President of the Organising Committee for the Paris 2024 Games.
Then Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, then takes the stage. For Bach, this is basically his World Cup final.
But they are joined on stage by represtatives of the five continents: Teddy Riner (Europe), Kaylee McKeown (Oceania) Sun Yingsha (Asia), Eliud Kipchoge (Africa), Mijaín López (Americas), as well as Cindy Ngamba (Olympic Refugee Team).
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
21:59
Jamie Braidwood
There was only place for Phoenix to finish: 1901!
Right on cue, as 1901 reaches its climax, Thomas Mars jumps into the crowd of Olympians and is lifted high into the night!
A bang. Confetti. Great stuff from Phoenix there.
And that’s just the start!
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
21:45
Jamie Braidwood
Phoenix!!!!!!!!!
The iconic French pop indie band gets the party started! As the first bars of Love is Like a Sunset ring out around the Stade de France!
Lisztomania next, jumpy, upbeat, the show is underway.
An interlude from Kavinsky, with her Nightcall.
Before Phoenix resume - If I Ever Feel Better, another classic .
With all due respect to my guy, the rapper VannDa, I have to Google his name to find his song: Time To Rise.
We now have a hooded guitarist, shredding a solo.
Fair to say this is a mixed bag.
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
21:41
Jamie Braidwood
The Olympics, though, are about the athletes, the pain, sacrifices and years of hard work that go into the joyful moments only the Games can produce.
A stirring montage shows us the best of Paris 2024. What an Olympics they were.
And now the athletes are encouraged to flock onto the stage in collective triumph.
We’re about to get our first star performance of the evening, too...
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
21:34
Jamie Braidwood
The rings on stage are coming together. I wonder what they will form!
It’s the Olympic rings of course, raised high into the night. Wonderful.
Fireworks! Golden sparks! Whizzing around the top of the Stade de France!
“In this finale, Thomas Jolly celebrates the power of diversity and solidarity: just like the Olympics Games, the greatest intangible workof humankind for peace, together, human beings are capable of the best.”
And that’s the end of the Golden Voyager’s journey.
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
21:30
Jamie Braidwood
Oh, now this cool. It’s the Hymn to Apollo, performed by Alain Roche, seated at a piano suspended vertically in the air.
Meanwhile, opera singer Benjamin Bernheim gives a spectacular performance
Discovered in the ruins of Delphi, the Hymn to Apollo was performed for the first time on 16 June 1894 at the International Congress in Paris for the revival of the Olympic Games.
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
21:26
Jamie Braidwood
Ok cool so the Golden Voyager’s quest continues with an encounter.
“The goddess Nike, the goddess of victory associated with the ancient Olympic Games, appears as an entity taking on the features of the statue of the Victory of Samothrace displayed in the Louvre.
“A voice from the past resounds, reminding us of the creation of the modern Games at the end of the 19th century. The Olympic spirit awakens the histor y of the ancient stadium as the show moves on to the grandstands, where athletes painted on potteries come to life transforming into doves of peace”.
The stage is now full of these white-robed dancers, with some dropping from the roof.
21:20
Jamie Braidwood
Ah, great stuff. The ‘Mysterious Torchbearer’ and the caped rider from the opening ceremony are back.
Basically an episode of The Masked Singer, this.
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
21:16
Jamie Braidwood
Yep, Mr Jolly has indeed cooked up some wild stuff to close the Olympics. We have the ‘Golden Voyager’ descending from the skies. Why? A great question.
This could be Dune II.
Not my words, but here’s some explanation:
“In the distant future, the Olympic Games have disappeared again. A Golden Voyager from another time and place, a character inspired by the world of science fiction, arrives at the centre of the stadium and explores a world where Olympic Games were once celebrated.
“Following in the footsteps of Pierre de Coubertin, he unearths the vestiges of past Olympic Games in order to bring them back to life. In the course of the show, we discover several symbols that marked the founding of the Games and the values of unity and peace that they convey.
“Once rediscovered and revived by the Golden Voyager and his companions, the Olympic Games will be lifted into the sky as the greatest human monument.”
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
21:11
Jamie Braidwood
This stage just wants some action. And as night falls and darkness arrives... we’re about to see some. Let the show begin.
What “dystopian” fantasy has creative director Thomas Jolly got in store for us here?
Please let it be Raygun.
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
21:09
Jamie Braidwood
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
21:04
Jamie Braidwood
Right then. The lights are dimmed are we’re about to get down to business. There’s a big stage waiting to be used in the middle of the Stade de France, and that moments is quickly arriving.
Before then, a moment for the 45,000 (!) volunteers who have given up their team to ensure the Olympics have run smoothly. One of them gave me some almost disastrously bad directions when trying to find the Acquatics Centre, but we’ll let off.
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
20:58
Jamie Braidwood
Wow! After her stunning, record-breaking victory in the marathon earlier, Sifan Hassan is going to receive her gold medal in front of a full Stade de France!
What a moment for Hassan - who absolutely deserves this. Bronze in the 5,000m, bronze in the 10,000m, followed by gold in the marathon! An absurd feat.
And now the whole Olympics pauses to recognise it. Hassan can’t stop smiling.
Kenya’s Hellen Obiri and Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa are also deserving of their medals after a brilliantly fought marathon - one of the best ever!
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
20:56
Jamie Braidwood
A king speaks.
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
20:51
Jamie Braidwood
Time for a sing-a-long apparently, which has been a feature of the Olympics.
And there’s one song that rules above them all:
Joe Dassin’s Les Champs-Elysées - a banger!
We could do with skipping Freed from Desire, which I’ve now heard too much this summer after Euro 2024 and the Olympics. Will Grigg is still on fire.
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
20:44
Jamie Braidwood
Here’s Team GB - and they’ve found some wacky Hawaiian shirts to wear! A deep purple base with bright yellows and reds. Bold.
Could be the most divisive moment of the night this: is it a look? I’m leaning.... yes?
A bit of a contrast to the Team USA, who are wearing their Top Gun style full American tracksuits.
Right, we’re done. Everyone is out. Let’s skip the register please.
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
20:35
Jamie Braidwood
The stream of athletes continues - including the enormous Team China. They’ve had another great Olympics, dominating the diving and table tennis once again, but they were pipped to the top of the medal table by the United States.
I’ve yet to see Great Britain, who ended the Olympics with 14 gold medals and 65 medals overall.
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
20:25
Jamie Braidwood
Well that was great, and much quicker than parading every country one by one. Approved. It’s about to get busy in the middle of the Stade de France, as the athletes of Paris 2024 emerge out of the tunnel - or those who have stuck around for the party, anyway. They’re trying to soak in as much of the Olympics as they can before it’s over for another four years.
Everyone is having a lovely time - especially you, Canada.
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
20:19
Jamie Braidwood
FLAGS! ATHLETES! No boats. But the Parade of Nations is underway, as all flagbearers make their way out onto the Stade de France in unison.
Alex Yee and Bryony Page, gold medal winners for Team GB in triathlon and trampolining, are carrying the Great Britain flag.
Antoine Dupont and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, heroes of rugby sevens and mountain biking, have the honour for France.
What a colourful, joyous sight.
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
20:10
Jamie Braidwood
Turns out Leon Marchand has a big job on his hands tonight. The Olympic flame has been placed inside a tiny golden lantern, which Marchand picks up with great care before heading off on a walk through the courtyard...
Later, Marchand will carry the flame back into the Stade de France before it is finally put out, signalling the end of the Olympic cycle. Back inside the stadium, an orchestra kicks off the party.
It’s a local community orchestra from Saint-Denis, a suburb north of Paris. It’s about to get very French. A lone flautist sets off on La Marseillaise - as Emmanuel Macron takes his seat next to the outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach.
The French glag and Olympic flag are raised during the anthem- thankfully, it looks like the Olympic flag has been raised the right way this time.
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
20:04
Jamie Braidwood
We start with a look good on that Opening Ceremony two weeks ago... which produced memorable moments right at the end with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron - a hot air balloon that took off into the night.
As for tonight, we begin with a swaying, enchanting choral performance from in front of the Olympic flame at the Jardin de Tuileries , as the sun sets on the Paris Olympics.
And here comes the first big star of the night! Four-time gold medal winner Leon Marchand - the face of the Paris Games and swimming superstar, looking very smart in a black suit.
Simone Biles, Suni Lee and more blast Olympics for ‘unacceptable’ Jordan Chiles medal controversy
19:47
Jack Rathborn
After US gymnast Jordan Chiles had her bronze medal taken away—a decision the US has said it will appeal—teammates, including Simone Biles and others from the sports world blasted the Olympic’s decision.
Fellow gymnast Suni Lee took her Instagram Stories to share her disappointment with the Olympic judges. She wrote, “All this talk about the athlete, what about the judges?? Completely unacceptable. This is awful and I’m gutted for Jordan.”
“I got your back forever Jo,” she added. “[You] have all my flowers and you will ALWAYS be an Olympic champion.”
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
19:46
Jamie Braidwood
Moments of the Olympics: Andy Murray retires
The 37-year-old announced before the Olympics that Paris would be his final tournament, and didn’t he put on a show alongside Dan Evans.
Murray and Evans saved seven match points on their way to making the third round, entertaining the Paris crowds with a final display of defiance.
It was an emotional rollercoast but it allowed Murray to finish on his terms.
.
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
19:37
Jamie Braidwood
Moments of the Olympics: Simone Biles returns
The greatest gymnast of all time made a stunning Olympics return in paris, winning three golds and a silver to leave the “twisties” in the past.
Who is performing at the Olympics 2024 closing ceremony in Paris
19:33
Jack Rathborn
After two weeks of intense, thrilling competition between the world’s best athletes – not to mention a handful of controversies – the Paris Olympics are coming to an end.
Team GB secured over a dozen gold medals for performances in sports including swimming, mountain biking, shooting, rowing, and the men’s triathlon, winning over 50 medals in total.
US gymnast Simon Biles made a triumphant return securing her seventh gold medal, while Swedish sports star Armand “Mondo” Duplantis won a gold medal for pole-vaulting, breaking the world record for the ninth time.
Olympics 2024: Closing Ceremony
19:30
Jamie Braidwood
The stage is (almost) set for a very different show to the lightning action that has electrified the purple running track at the Stade de France. For now, that is gone, or at least covered by a black carpet and a stage of different pointed shapes.
It’s all a mystery for now, but we’re around half an hour or so from the Closing Ceremony getting underway
British Olympic chiefs proud of Team GB’s medal haul
19:21
Jamie Braidwood
The British Olympic Association says Team GB’s medal haul at Paris 2024 should be celebrated, despite Britain finishing in its lowest position in the table for 20 years.
Great Britain ended the Paris Olympics with 65 medals – the same amount won on home soil at London 2012 and second-best ever tally on foreign soil – with only the United States (126) and China (91) claiming more.
But Team GB won eight fewer gold medals than in Tokyo three years ago and were 13 down on the 27 collected at Rio 2016.
A final return of 14 gold, 22 silver and 29 bronze saw Britain slip to seventh spot in the medal table – its lowest place since finishing 10th at Athens 2004 – and third-best European nation behind hosts France and the Netherlands.
That was certainly not expected when Team GB chef de mission Mark England said last October that “the wheels are going to have to come off if we’re not top five”, while stating the aim was to be the best in Europe per gold medals won.
But BOA chief executive Andy Anson said at a post-Games briefing: “It’s hard to feel like that when we’ve won 65 medals.
“It’s frustrating to be seventh in the medal table, but we’ve got to celebrate first the number of fantastic moments, the way athletes have won their medals.”
Every Olympic flagbearer for Paris 2024 closing ceremony including Alex Yee and Katie Ledecky
19:10
Jamie Braidwood
The end of the Olympics has arrived with a closing ceremony at the Stade de France set to bring the curtain down on Paris 2024.
It’s been 17 days since the rain-soaked opening extravaganza on the River Seine and conditions are much brighter for the spectacle in Saint Denis.
While each country competing at the Olympics will also have their moment - although they will not be travelling down the Seine on boats this time.
Gold medallists Alex Yee and Bryony Page will be Great Britain’s flagbearers at the closing ceremony, and here’s a look at everyone else.
Olympics 2024: Alex Yee and Bryony Page to be Team GB’s flagbearer's
18:42
Jamie Braidwood
Gold medallists Alex Yee and Bryony Page will be Great Britain’s flagbearers at the closing ceremony for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Yee claimed a dramatic victory in the men’s triathlon, overhauling New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde after looking booked for second place at one stage. He also takes home a bronze via the mixed relay competition, adding to his individual silver and relay gold from Tokyo.
He said: “It’s a massive honour. I got on the Eurostar yesterday expecting just to celebrate the success of Team GB and enjoy the closing ceremony, so to find out I’m going to be holding the flag is a real honour.
“I think it’s really special given the success triathlon has had before to be picked as the first flagbearer (from triathlon).”
When and where is the closing ceremony?
18:15
Mike Jones
The closing ceremony will take place on Sunday, 11 August at 9pm local time (8pm BST) at the Stade de France, Paris.
Athletics, rowing and equestrian pass Team GB’s Paris 2024 test in style
17:55
Harry Latham-Coyle
Among other sports, Great Britain’s rowers achieved their best medal haul from an overseas Olympics, while the athletes upgraded on their Tokyo tally at Paris 2024. But there was disappointment elsewhere as the cycling and sailing teams fell short of expectation overall as Team GB won eight fewer golds than they took home from Tokyo.
Fifth-place finish for Britain in Paris cycling medal table as they lose summit
17:45
Mike Jones
For the first time in two decades Great Britain did not finish top of the cycling medal table at an Olympic Games.
Paris 2024 saw Team GB fifth, below France, the Netherlands, Australia and the United States.
Eleven medals was more than any other nation, but this time the colours had changed. Two gold medals represented the lowest number since Athens in 2004, back before the extraordinary run of success that brought eight golds in Beijing and London, six in both Rio and Tokyo.
How Emma Finucane battled through self doubt to become Team GB’s star of the Olympics
17:35
Jamie Braidwood in Paris
When Chris Hoy and Laura Kenny picked out a British cyclist to watch ahead of the Olympics in Paris, it was worth sitting up and taking notice.
After seven brutal days at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines National Velodrome and with the pressure of being Team GB’s next great hope, Emma Finucane did not just meet those expectations but surpass them. At her first Olympics, the 21-year-old from Wales became the first British woman in 60 years to win three medals at a single Games.
What time is Olympics closing ceremony? Everything you need to know about Paris 2024 finale
17:31
Jack Rathborn
The Olympics ends its two-week sporting extravaganza tonight when Paris 2024 delivers the closing ceremony.
After a memorable, action-packed Games, attention will turn to Los Angeles 2028 with a star-studded spectacle set to take place tonight at the Stade de France.
After the rain hit the opening ceremony along the Seine River, Paris should be better prepared for its final event at the iconic Saint-Denis stadium.
Here’s all you need to know about the closing ceremony, where 80,000 spectators will bring the curtain down on this year’s Olympic Games:
Sebastian Coe explains stance over running for IOC president
17:25
Mike Jones
World Athletics chief Lord Coe stopped short of officially declaring his candidacy for International Olympic Committee president but revealed he would “of course” consider running for the soon-to-be vacated role.
Thomas Bach, the current IOC president, revealed on Saturday he would stand down after his second term ends in 2025 despite calls from some corners for him to consider an extension that would allow him to stay in office longer.
Lord Coe is one year into a third and final term in his current post as World Athletics president after running unopposed last summer.
Why is the world’s most populous nation 71st in the Olympics medal table?
17:17
Mike Jones
India had to wait until the 13th day of the Paris Olympics to secure a medal higher than bronze, with flag-bearer Neeraj Chopra’s silver in the men’s javelin sending a wave of celebration tinged with relief through the medal-starved country.
India sent a contingent of 117 athletes to Paris, yet have a paltry haul of five bronze medals and Chopra’s solitary silver to show for it. They rank 71st in the medals table, below the likes of Hong Kong, Taiwan, North Korea, Cuba and Saint Lucia – a Caribbean island of just 180,000 people.
It’s a disappointing return to the norm for a country that registered its best-ever performance at the last Games in Tokyo in 2021: seven medals, including one gold. For the most populous nation on Earth, a sports-mad country of 1.4 billion which also boasts the world’s fifth largest economy, it’s a record as frustrating as it is puzzling.
