Paris 2024 Paralympic Closing Ceremony: Farewell to a special summer

Some 15 participating organizations reported sales of 90%. Iconic Paralympic venues such as the Grand Palais, the Eiffel Tower Stadium, Les Invalides and the Palace of Versailles sold between 95 and 100% of their tickets. Overall, more than 75% of the tickets were sold across the 22 Paralympic sports.

According to the announcement of the Paris 2024 Olympic Organizing Committee, a total of more than 2.3 million tickets were sold for 22 events in 10 days of the Paralympics (compared to 9.5 million tickets for 44 events in 15 days of the Olympics), of which more than 230,000 tickets were sold for the Paralympic opening ceremony.

With 92% of the audience being French, the competitions are arranged in the late afternoon and evening, so even though it is the new school year and adults have returned to work, the number of spectators buying tickets to watch the matches is still very large.

In addition, children also enjoy preferential treatment to watch the Olympics live. The State provides 200,000 free tickets for primary and secondary schools to watch the Paralympic competitions. This has created great excitement for students when they have the opportunity to learn the rules of sports and especially to meet famous athletes and great champions directly.

The Olympic rings will remain on the Eiffel Tower after the 2024 Paris Olympics, as proposed by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo. Meanwhile, the Agitos (short for Paralympic), which currently sits atop the Arc de Triomphe, will be relocated to the exit of the Champs-Elysées-Clémenceau metro station, opposite the statue of General Charles de Gaulle on the Champs-Élysées.

According to Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, she has proposed and the Paris City Hall has agreed to keep the Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower and Agitos on the Champs-Élysées until at least 2028, when the next Olympics will be held. She said lighter rings specially designed to withstand winter conditions are being made to replace the current ones.

In addition, there are many opinions suggesting that the “Paris 2024 Olympic Cauldron” should be permanently maintained at the Tuileries Garden. However, this proposal has encountered many conflicting opinions regarding maintenance and maintenance costs as well as copyright issues.

In fact, the use of Olympic symbols must comply with strict regulations set by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Almost everything related to the Olympics: the torch, the emblem, the mascots, and even the famous slogan “Citius - Altius - Fortius” (Faster - Higher - Stronger) and its translations into different languages ​​belong to the IOC.

The host city’s Olympic flame, even if it is powered by electricity and ready to fly into the sky at night, will have to be extinguished after the Games and will not be relit until the next Games. Therefore, the “Paris 2024 Olympic Cauldron” may not remain permanently after the Games. The Olympic rings manufactured by ArcelorMittal, as well as the approximately 2,000 Olympic torches used in the relay, have also been handed over to the IOC.

September 8 marks the official end of the Games, from Paris 2024 to Los Angeles 2028. About a month after the Olympic flag was raised, the closing ceremony of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games was held at the same venue at the Stade de France to close a new chapter in the history of the Games.

This moment will be the last chance for Thomas Jolly, Artistic Director of the 4 ceremonies of the Paris 2024 Olympics, to show his creativity and capture a unique impression with the whole world.

The ceremony is also an opportunity to celebrate Paralympic athletes and their inspiring performances, providing an unforgettable event shared between athletes and fans.

Paris hosted the Paralympic Games for the first time, but it was a resounding success with iconic moments. British archer Jodie Grinham became the first pregnant Paralympic athlete to win a medal; taekwondo fighter Zakia Khudadadi won the first medal for a refugee Paralympic team; American Matt Stutzman, dubbed the “armless archer”, won his first gold medal in 12 years, having won his only Paralympic silver medal at London 2012…

The time has come to say goodbye. The Stade de France will be the place to bid farewell to the athletes who have lit up the 12 days of competition, with its signature lavender track hosting many great performances.

It will be the backdrop for a huge party, with 24 French DJs delivering the world's biggest “electronic music party” to celebrate the 4,400 athletes and 168 Paralympic delegations from around the world.

Famous French DJs such as Jean-Michel Jarre, Étienne de Crécy, Cassius and Kavinsky, Martin Solveig, Ofenbach, Kungs, Irène Drésel, Boston Bun... will host a live music show for nearly 3 hours in front of 60,000 spectators.

Composer Jean-Michel Jarre will be the star of the ceremony. At 76, he is a bridge between generations, turning Paris into a celebration and saying goodbye to the Paralympics with a smile and a record medal haul for France.

The Olympic flame in the Tuileries will also be extinguished, marking the end of the 2024 Games.

The closing ceremony will begin at 8:30 p.m. on September 8 (1:30 a.m. on September 9 Vietnam time) and end at 11 p.m. This grand finale will also feature all the traditional rituals, such as speeches, thanking volunteers, and the handover of the Paralympic flag to the host country, the United States, for the 2028 Games.

The Paralympic Games closing ceremony was filled with emotion, marking the end of an extraordinary summer. The rhythm of life in France seemed more vibrant, more bustling, the French people were excited again, following the rhythm of sporting feats and the enthusiasm in the streets, in festivals and in the stadiums.

France had an unexpectedly successful Olympics, joy has returned to the French people, today and will last forever.