Paris bids adieu to the Olympics as the Los Angeles Games beckon

PARIS – In the lead-up to the Paris Olympics, there were many doubts over whether the French capital would be able to pull off hosting the world’s biggest sporting spectacle.

There were concerns over heatwaves and security risks

amid political uncertainty in France,

and Parisians displayed little enthusiasm as the clock ticked down to the Games.

But Paris came to life over the past fortnight as it welcomed more than 10,700 athletes from 200 countries and territories, who battled it out across 32 sports.

In a stark contrast to the Tokyo Games in 2021, which were held in empty stadiums due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the last 17 days have delivered world-class sporting action in front of packed stands at iconic venues such as the Grand Palais.

The United States topped the medal table for the fourth straight Games, although it came down to the very last event on Aug 11 for the Americans to do so. Going into the final day, the US had 38 golds, while China led with 39.

While Chinese weightlifter Li Wenwen clinched one gold in the women’s 81kg event, the Americans claimed two, first through cyclist Jennifer Valente and then via the women’s basketball team, who claimed their eighth consecutive Olympic title.

Level on 40 golds, the US pipped China to the top spot based on silvers won – 44 to 27.

Hosts France were fifth, with 16 golds, 26 silvers and 22 bronzes, their best haul since the 1900 Olympics which were also held in the French capital.

Ninety-one teams made the medal standings here, including Singapore who were joint-84th with

one bronze won by kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder.

It was the first time since the 2016 Rio Games that the Republic featured in the medal table, with Maximilian, 17, just the sixth Singaporean to ascend the Olympic podium.

Unlike

the ambitious effort of holding the opening ceremony on the River Seine,

the Paris Games closed with a more conventional and mellow ceremony at the Stade de France on Aug 11.

Ahead of the closing ceremony, executive director Thierry Reboul admitted that he had to review the script “for the umpteenth time” after a scene from the opening ceremony, which was interpreted as parodying The Last Supper, drew backlash from Christian groups worldwide.

The sketch featured drag queens, a transgender model, a naked singer dressed up as the Greek god of wine Dionysus, and while Reboul maintained that it was in reference to a 17th-century Dutch painting of the Greek Olympian gods, he and artistic director Thomas Jolly received death threats.

In front of over 71,500 spectators, the closing ceremony began with a musical performance led by French singer Zaho de Sagazan and the choir of the Handel-Hendrix Academy singing Edith Piaf’s Sous le ciel de Paris (Under The Parisian Sky) as the sunset drenched sections of the national stadium in golden hues.

French swim star Leon Marchand, who set the pool alight with a four-gold display, was then unveiled as the final torchbearer, much to the delight of the crowd as the Olympic cauldron’s flame at the Tuileries Gardens was extinguished.

Then it was back to the stadium where the French flag made its way into the Stade de France, before the remaining athletes at the Games marched into the venue.

Maximilian and national kayaker Stephenie Chen were Singapore’s flagbearers.

An artistic show titled Records followed, depicting a dystopian journey to the foundations of humanity, a tribute to the creation of the Olympic Games, with the segment culminating in the hoisting of the Olympic rings and fireworks.

The opening ceremony featured Lady Gaga and Celine Dion, and the closing ceremony also boasted its own star power.

French indie band Phoenix kick-started the final portion of the show with an electrifying set, before American singer H.E.R took the stage.

The night closed with Mission Impossible star Tom Cruise abseiling from the top of the stadium roof to take the Olympic flag for the next host Los Angeles.

Cruise then left the stadium on a motorcycle with the flag affixed to his back as the ceremony transitioned to a pre-recorded video of the 62-year-old skydiving down to the Hollywood sign, where a wide shot showed the Olympic rings incorporated into the famous LA landmark.

The flag was then passed from US Olympians past and present before reaching a beach party, where California-based musical acts Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre performed.

In a fitting final touch, Marchand arrived at the Stade de France to cheers of “Le-on!” and blew out the flame as International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach declared the Paris Games closed. Merci, Paris; hello, LA!