As is protocol during the Closing and After the athletes’ procession, a spectacular 40-minute show directed by Thomas Jolly, entitled “Record,” is set to take center stage, celebrating the unifying spirit of sports. “This performance highlights the core values of the Olympics—sharing, universality, and the fragility of our world,” remarked artistic director Thomas Jolly. Over a hundred performers, including acrobats, dancers, and circus artists, will transform the Stade de France into a grand performance hall and concert venue.
Part of the show will take place high above the stadium floor, featuring daring acts performed without safety nets at significant heights. The costumes, designed by Kevin Germanier using entirely recycled materials (with the exception of outfits for stars dressed by sponsor Dior), will showcase a striking palette of gold, black, and rhinestones. The musical accompaniment will be provided by the Divertimento Symphony Orchestra, supported by students from the Fontainebleau master school.
Athens 1896
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 11, 2024to Paris 2024
It’s always worth remembering Pierre de Coubertin’s vision for the modern Olympic Games and the contribution of Greece.#Paris2024 #ClosingCeremony pic.twitter.com/BiHfQNGrQu
Following the show will be tributes to the tradition of the Los Angeles Games, set to host the next Summer Olympics in 2028—44 years after the 1984 Games. British producer and director Ben Winston has created a twelve-minute performance for this segment, in which singer Gabriella Wilson, known as H.E.R., will perform the American national anthem. Tom Cruise will appear in a new “Mission: Impossible” segment, showcasing the transfer of the Olympic flag from Paris to Los Angeles through footage filmed across both sides of the Atlantic. The climax will be the ceremonial extinguishing of the Flame at the Olympic altar.
An impressive choreographed ballet will depict the Golden Voyager discovering the Olympic rings, which will rise from the floor of the Stade de France, suspended mid-air in the stadium.
Acclaimed French pianist and opera singer Benjamin Bernheim will perform the Hymn to Apollo, with Alain Roche accompanying on a piano that will be suspended vertically in the air.
During the ballet of the Rings, a levitating interlude opened up: the Hymn to Apollo was performed by Alain Roche, seated at a piano floating vertically in the air, offering a truly “suspended” moment. Thomas Jolly teamed up with the French pianist and Franco-Swiss opera singer Benjamin Bernheim for a performance that breathed new life into the oldest hymn of ancient Greece.
Thomas Jolly teamed up with the French pianist and Franco-Swiss opera singer Benjamin Bernheim for a performance that breathed new life into the oldest hymn of ancient Greece.
Under the Olympic Rings hoisted into the sky, a celebration in honour of the Games
Once the Rings were reunited in the sky over the Stade de France, the athletes took possession of the world stage to become actors in the show themselves. Like a symbol, the rediscovery of the Olympic Games in this fiction between past and future brings the world together. The highlights of the Paris 2024 edition were broadcast, bringing to life two weeks of performances, emotions and communion.
The climax of the Closing Ceremony kicked off with a theatrical appearance by the French group Phoenix. After playing a first track from their emblematic repertoire, the duo invited a number of world-class artists to join them in celebrating the Olympic Games: Kavinsky, Angèle, Air, VannDa and Ezra Koenig took their turn among the athletes and performers.