2024 Paris Olympics Closing Ceremony: What to Expect
The Paris Summer Olympic Games are coming to an end this weekend, a moment to be marked with the closing ceremony.
This year’s Games kicked off with a historic opening ceremony on the Seine River, featuring many notable moments, including a moving performance by Celine Dion. The Games themselves weren’t without controversy; a $1.5 billion investment to make the Seine safe for some swimming events sparked anger, frustration, and amusement from the public. After triathlon practice sessions were canceled and the men’s event was postponed a day because of high levels of E. coli in the water, athletes were finally allowed to compete in the famous river.
But the Games were also full of excitement. The U.S. women’s gymnastics team reclaimed gold in the team final; Katie Ledecky beat her own record for the most medals won by an American woman in Olympic history after earning her 14th medal; and two Caribbean countries won their first ever Olympic medals when Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred earned gold in the women’s 100-m sprint and Dominica’s Thea LaFond was awarded gold with a 15.02 meter jump in the triple jump.
After the Olympic Games end, the Paralympics are up next on Aug. 28. Much of what organizers have planned for the Olympic closing ceremony will be a surprise, but here’s everything we know so far.
When is the closing ceremony and how can you watch it?
Viewers can watch the closing ceremony live on NBC or Peacock starting at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 11. Jimmy Fallon and NBC sports reporter Mike Tirico will co-host NBC’s coverage of the event.
What will happen during the ceremony?
The ceremony will be held at the Stade de France, the country’s national stadium, which will be transformed into a concert hall for the event on Aug. 11.
As with the opening ceremony, the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee has been tight-lipped about what it has planned for the final show. Organizers previously revealed that the show will be called “Records,” and will feature over a hundred performers, acrobats, dancers, and circus artists in a “visual spectacle.” “World-renowned singers” will also be performing, though organizers have not yet revealed who they will be.
Traditional moments of the Olympic closing ceremony—including the flags of the nations, the athletes’ parade, and the handover of the Olympic flag to the next city hosting the Summer Games, in this case the Los Angeles 2028 Organizing Committee—will all be part of the show.
Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee, previously said that the closing ceremony “will be solemn and emotional, but it will also be a time for celebration!”
Thomas Jolly, the artistic director behind the opening ceremony, is also taking charge of the final show. He previously said the event will be “very visual, very choreographic, very acrobatic” and will have “an operatic dimension to give a great visual fresco and say goodbye to athletes from all over the world.”
“That moment will remind us just how precious these Olympic Games are—a unique monument to a shared experience—and therefore fragile,” Jolly said. “Together, let’s make this evening a memorable and conscious celebration, honouring the past and embracing the future.”
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