A musical and stunt-filled closing ceremony draws the curtain on the Paris Olympics

PARIS — With one last big exhale from French swimmer Léon Marchand, the Olympic flame in Paris is out.

The closing ceremony on Sunday drew the curtain on a historic two-plus week stretch of Olympic competition.

And historic it was. The Summer Games made novel use of the country’s iconic venues (the Eiffel Tower, Grand Palais and The Palace of Versailles to name just a few). Meanwhile, American swimmer Katie Ledecky, who added four more medals to her overall total of 14, became the most decorated female Olympian, while Marchand showed the world he’s swimming’s next big thing. U.S. gymnasts, led by Simone Biles, got their redemption, and St. Lucia won its first ever medal — in the fastest track event no less.

The return of crowds boost Olympic spirit

More than 71,000 spectators packed into Stade de France, the country’s national stadium located north of Paris, for the closing bash for the first Olympics since COVID restrictions were completely lifted. The absence of any COVID protocols allowed athletes to enjoy the full energy of the crowd, but there were also infections.

The venue had transformed from a site of Olympic track and rugby events into a concert hall.

The program kicked off on a solemn note, with French singer Zaho de Sagazan, and a choir dressed in all black, gathered round the cauldron singing "Sous le ciel de Paris.” The tempo picked up with a lively orchestral set inside the stadium, where the traditional entrance of the flags and the parade of athletes from 205 delegations marched along a silver-colored stage of disjointed, shard-shaped platforms.

For the U.S., Katie Ledecky and rower Nick Mead were among the circle of flag bearers, while bronze-medalist pole vaulter Emmanouil Karalis and artistic swimmer Evangelia Platanioti were seen waving the Greece flag. Team USA and Team China were seen standing next to each other, both singing along to “We Are The Champions” moments after the countries had tied in the gold medal count.

The festivities also included a medal ceremony for the top finishers of the women’s marathon that concluded earlier in the day. It was the first time the women's race has closed the Olympic Games. Gold medalist Dutch runner Sifan Hassan took the top of the podium after winning with an Olympic record time of 2:22:55. That’s after already clinching two bronze medals in both the 5,000- and 10,000-meter race to run a total of 38 miles.

The moment was a nod to organizers’ goal of reaching full gender parity for the Paris Games. At the same time, it struck a dissonant chord alongside a Games that saw the targeting of female Algerian boxer Imane Khelif over her gender. In Paris, buoyed by fan support that outshouted the online attacks she faced, she went on to win gold. That wasn’t the only controversy. After a huge investment in cleaning up the Seine, the question of the waters’ daily safety kept swimmers on their toes.

The volunteers who helped the Paris Games run were also honored. The teal-uniformed crew ran the show behind the scenes — they combed the sand at the beach volleyball matches, swept the sweat from the basketball courts, and removed the hurdles from the Stade de France track.

A celebration of Olympics past and present

A particularly dramatic moment linked past and present Olympic history. As the stadium darkened, a mysterious gold creature descended from the sky — artistic director Thomas Jolly's so-named "The Golden Voyager" — and arrived in a science fiction world without an Olympics Games.

After an encounter with a statue of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, an excavation of the Olympics began – reviving the ancient Games in Greece 2,800 ago such as when Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the first modern Games, did it at the end of the 19th century, in Paris.

A homogenous army of white-clad dancers that populated the desolate stage grew more animated and acrobatic, and soon their giant cirque du soleil-like steel rings were refashioned into the Olympic rings representing the five continents.

Phoenix, Air bring light to austere ceremony

With one signature synth-y intro of pop-rock band Phoenix’s hit track “Lisztomania,” we’d entered the 2000s. They played alongside French compatriots Air and electro house artist Kavinsky who performed “Nightcall.” Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig also joined the musical act.

A Hollywood handoff from Paris to Los Angeles

The arrival of Tom Cruise signaled a not-so-traditional handoff of the Olympic flag to the next host city: Los Angeles. The actor — known for doing his own stunt work in the Mission Impossible films — rappelled from the edge of the open-air stadium down to the stage to accept the flag from Simone Biles. In a pre-taped video, he traversed Paris via motorcycle and then, as a skydiver, descended on the Hollywood sign (with the double-Os now dressed as the bottommost Olympic rings).

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg take the concert to LA

In Los Angeles, mountain biker Kate Courtney brought the flag to four-time Olympic champion sprinter Michael Johnson, who ran the flag through the wide city streets. Skateboarder Jagger Eaton, a Paris silver medalist, brought the flag to Venice Beach, where the Red Hot Chili Peppers kicked off a beachside concert that included other Southern California-based artists Billie Eilish and rapper Snoop Dogg.