2024 Paris Olympic games: Léon Marchand carries flame for closing ceremony | AP News

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Katie Ledecky, mic’d up by NBC, said as she carried the American flag into the closing ceremony that “I’d love to swim in 2028, I think swimming in front of a home crowd would be incredible. I am going to take it one year at a time.”

Ledecky says this is her first Olympics she stayed the second week after swimming concluded and was able to attend other events, including multiple basketball games. “I’ve gotten to meet so many athletes from so many different sports. I’ve just been cheering my head off.”

Flag bearers are entering the stadium. Katie Ledecky and Imane Khelif are among them.

French President Emmanuel Macron and the International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach are being introduced in the Stade de France. The shook hands and embraced in the presidential stands.

The French national anthem, “La Marseillaise” is playing. It was played 16 times after events this Olympics won by the host country. The tricolor flag has been raised alongside the Olympic flag in the corner of the stadium.

French swimmer Léon Marchand, wearing a black suit and tie, walks around the Olympic cauldron.

He picked up a lantern carrying the Olympic flame. At the same time, the Stade de France was roaring as Marchand was shown on the giant screens. Marchand was perhaps the most celebrated athlete at the Paris 2024 Olympics with 4 gold medals and 1 bronze medal.

The show is under way. French singer Zaho de Sagazan is singing the famous French song “Sous le ciel de Paris” in the Jardin des Tuileries, next to the Olympic cauldron, in the heart of Paris.

Whistles and chants of “Allez!” are the soundtrack at Stade de France, and a few sections of fans did the wave. It has been popular at this Olympics.

Video highlights of the opening ceremony are being shown on video screens, a reminder of the dazzling show on the Seine from July 26..

French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Marie-Claude Macron arrived in the Stade de France.

They were joined by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, IOC chief Thomas Bach, Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet and five-time Olympic Champion Martin Fourcade, who passed on the Olympic torch to kick off the 2024 Games.

Security has lined the perimeter around the stage, and musicians with their instruments are walking out onto the field. A few minutes from getting this show underway.

Fans have started a slow clap with a couple of minutes before show time.

H.E.R., the five-time Grammy winner, is expected to sing the U.S. national anthem live at the Stade de France as part of the closing ceremony.

Other performances remain a mystery. Organizers said “the participation of world-renowned singers will complete the picture,” but didn’t elaborate on who those singers could be.

They added: “Part of the show will take place in the air, while the giant sets, costumes and spectacular lighting effects will take spectators on a journey through time, both past and future.”

The sun is setting on the Paris Olympics for the last time. By day, Paris shines. But at night, it sparkles.

And perhaps rarely so noticeably as during these past two and a half weeks.

Exhibit 1: the Eiffel Tower, of course. As the sun sets each night, the lights come on, enhancing the beauty of the iron latticework. But the “ooh” moment at beach volleyball, played in an epically photogenic stadium under the tower, would come at 10 p.m., when the music would stop and announcers would ask the crowd to turn to the Eiffel (were they looking anywhere else?) and light their phones.

Exhibit 2: The gleaming orb that seemed to float in the night sky above the Tuileries gardens – the Olympic cauldron, a 7-meter (23-feet) diameter ring of fire (not a real flame) supported by a giant air balloon.

Large crowds formed each night in the gardens and in the neighboring courtyard of the Louvre museum — also stunningly floodlit — and wait for the launch, sometimes watching groups of breakers dance.

A wave of gasps rose up from an appreciative crowd of not just tourists, but also hardened Parisians, awed by the nightly light show in their hometown.

The rain that soaked athletes and observers at the opening ceremony is a distant memory. It’s sunny and warm at 85 degrees Fahrenheit (30 Celsius). Sunset in Saint-Denis is 9:12 p.m. — 10 minutes or so into the show.

With less than 30 minutes left before the closing ceremony, workers are still on hands and knees finishing the stage in the middle of the stadium. The stands are roughly half full, with more than 70,000 fans expected to be in attendance.

A helicopter is circling overhead. Officials have said security is a priority as the Olympics reach the finish line.

Everyone entering the stadium is receiving a mysterious white bracelet with a small box attached. The box will light up, meaning fans will somehow be part of the light show. The same wristbands were used for a light show ahead of the men’s 100-meter while the track events were held at Stade de France.

With an hour to go before the closing ceremony, the vibe around Stade de France is decidedly more low key than at many of the events around the Paris Olympics that featured loud, raucous crowds.

There are fewer fans with flags and face paint, too, but there is plenty of time to go.

The Stade de France in Saint-Denis, where the closing ceremony will take place, was built in 1998 for the FIFA World Cup, which France hosted and won that year.

Since then, it has been the home field for the national soccer and rugby teams and has hosted big concerts featuring artists like Prince, the Rolling Stones, and, more recently, Beyoncé. At the Paris Olympics, it was home to rugby sevens and track and field.

With 80,000 seats, it’s the largest stadium in France.

▶ Read more about the venues used at the Paris Olympics

The breaking community wants the world to give b-girl Raygun a break as the Paris Olympics wrapped up.

The sport made its Olympic debut in Paris — it might never be back — and one of the lasting images was the performance of an Australian b-girl known as Raygun who did a “kangaroo dance” and scored zero points.

In a show of support on Sunday, the head judge of the breaking competition said 36-year-old university professor Rachael Gunn was just trying to be original. And the breaking federation says it has offered mental health support in the wake of online criticism.

“Breaking is all about originality and bringing something new to the table and representing your country or region,” head judge Martin Gilian — known as MGbility — said at a press conference. “This is exactly what Raygun was doing. She got inspired by her surroundings, which in this case, for example, was a kangaroo.”

The breaking and hip-hop communities “definitely stand behind her,” he added.

▶ Read more about the future of breaking at the Olympics

Gold, silver and bronze medalists can skip the trip to the gift shop. When the winners have taken the podium, they were handed a long, thin package containing the official Paris Olympics poster.

They also got special stuffed Olympic Phryges with their corresponding medal.

▶ Read more answers to burning questions around the Olympics

More than 30,000 police officers have been deployed around Paris on Sunday.

France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said about 3,000 police officers will be mobilized around the Stade de France and 20,000 police troops and other security personnel in Paris and the Saint-Denis area will be mobilized late into the night.

Fans are filing into Stade de France for the closing ceremony while music plays, dancers go through final rehearsals and workers mill about on and around the stage.

The crowd applauded at the completion of one act. There is still more than 90 minutes to go before the show gets underway.

During the 2024 Olympics, crowds have surprised even themselves with their enthusiasm for two and a half weeks of sports. Now, they’re saying “au revoir” — see you again — as the Games draw to a close Sunday. After the 100-year wait since Paris’ last Games, no one can say when France’s capital and the Olympics will next embrace. But they’re both emerging changed from their summer romance. (AP video by Alexander Turnbull)

Brittney Griner knows exactly where her Olympic gold medal is going.

Right next to her newborn son, Bash.

The United States’ 67-66 victory over France in the women’s basketball gold-medal game capped a long road back for Griner. She was sitting in a Russian penal colony two years ago not sure if she would ever play basketball again, let alone in her third Olympics.

▶ Read more about Griner’s journey

They won their Olympic medals after making so many sacrifices and spending so many hours training. Then came the fun part — celebrating with family and friends, even strangers.

Newly minted medalists in track and field went out for meals to toast their accomplishments. Some hit the dance floor, while others took a dip in the pool. There were those who went straight to bed — too exhausted to go out — and those who spent time answering the hundreds and hundreds of messages that lit up their phone.

“I’ve never been so locked in in my life than in these past three months,” Swedish pole vaulter Armand “Mondo” Duplantis said after defending his Olympic gold by setting a world record. “Now I’m just ready to eat a bunch of food. The party is going to be pretty big.”

▶ Read more about how the athletes celebrated

AP photojournalist Abbie Parr explains how she captured the four-time gold medalist during her gymnastics debut at the Paris Olympics.

Algerian boxing champion Imane Khelif will be among the flag-bearers when Olympic athletes bid farewell to the Paris Games in a closing ceremony at France’s national stadium

U.S. swimmer Katie Ledecky and French rugby star Antoine Dupont are among the other gold medalists who will do the honors.

There’s an air of anticipation of over what director Thomas Jolly has created to bring the Games to a close at Stade de France after the grandiose and unprecedented open-air opening ceremony on the Seine River.

▶ Read more about who’s carrying flags at the closing ceremony

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif called on people to avoid bullying following her gold medal win at the Paris Olympics. Khelif also shared her personal journey after enduring days of online attacks about her gender.

In French, there are no goodbyes.

Instead, Olympic crowds from Paris to the surfing venue in Tahiti were saying “au revoir” — see you again — as the 2024 Games drew to a close Sunday.

After the 100-year wait since Paris’ last Games, no one can say when France’s capital and the Olympics will next embrace. But this much is certain: They’re both emerging changed — in some ways for the better — from their summer romance.

Paris’ third Games — it also hosted in 1900 — have been filled with passion. French fans surprised even themselves with their enthusiasm for two and a half weeks of sports, plunging into the party like Léon Marchand parting the waters for his four swimming golds.

▶ Read more about the summer romance between Paris and the Olympics

Romania’s Ana Barbosu replaced American Jordan Chiles as the Olympic bronze medalist in gymnastics floor exercise after the International Gymnastics Federation restored Barbosu to third.

The International Olympic Committee confirmed the reallocation of the medal less than 24 hours after the Court of Arbitration for Sport voided an appeal from Chiles’ coach during Monday’s competition that vaulted her over Barbosu and onto the podium.

The IOC said in a statement it will be in touch with the USOPC regarding the return of Chiles’ bronze and will work with the Romanian Olympic Committee to discuss a reallocation ceremony honoring Barbosu.

▶ Read more about the scoring controversy

The U.S. tied with China for the most gold medals, but won the overall medal count with 126 gold, silver and bronze titles.

The U.S. beat host France in the women’s basketball final, the final event of the 2024 Paris Olympics, tying China for the most gold medals.

The Americans beating France 67-66 a much-tighter-than-expected game made it 40 golds and and 126 total medals. China won 91 overall, Britain 65 and France 64.

French police have evacuated the area around the Eiffel Tower after a man was seen climbing the Paris landmark hours before the Olympics closing ceremony Sunday.

The shirtless man was seen scaling the 330-meter (1,083-foot) tall tower in the afternoon. It’s unclear where he began his ascent, but he was spotted just above the Olympic rings adorning the second section of the monument, just above the first viewing deck.

Police escorted visitors away from the area around 3 p.m. Some visitors who were briefly locked on the second floor were allowed to exit around 30 minutes later.

The Eiffel Tower was a centerpiece of the opening ceremony, with Celine Dion serenading the city from one of its viewing areas. The Tower is not expected to be part of the closing ceremony, which was set to begin at Stade de France in the northern suburb of Saint-Denis at 9 p.m.

▶ Read more about the incident

All eyes were on Simone Biles as she won four medals, but the spotlight was bright enough to highlight new names, new faces and some unlikely new stars. The Paris Games will be remembered for breathtaking venues, unprecedented accessibility and Snoop Dogg taking a starring role in NBC’s record-smashing coverage.

Paris introduced the world to “The Pommel Horse Guy” and “The Real John Wick” and a meme-making performance by an Australian professor in the Olympic debut of breaking.

French swimmer Léon Marchand delivered in his home Olympics with a Michael Phelps-like performance, winning five medals, four of them gold. Ilona Maher angled for a shot on reality TV show “Love Island” after leading the United States to a heart-stopping late victory that gave the U.S. its first ever a medal, a bronze, in rugby sevens.

The United States won the medal count — 121 of them headed into Sunday’s final day of competition, 37 of them gold — and the Americans again prevailed in men’s basketball and women’s soccer.

▶ Read more about some of the top moments of the Paris Olympics.

The ceremony will feature traditional highlights, including the athletes’ parade and the handover of the Olympic flag to the organizers of the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

H.E.R., the five-time Grammy winner, is expected to sing the U.S. national anthem live at the Stade de France as part of the handover. There will be a medal presentation ceremony — for the women’s marathon from earlier in the day.

The Stade de France is more traditional setting after the Seine River was used for the audacious opening ceremony, but don’t expect it to be dull. It features the same artistic director — Thomas Jolly.

Organizers said in a recent statement that it will include “over a hundred performers, acrobats, dancers and circus artists.”

The action is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. CEST (3 p.m. EDT), and is expected to last until 11:15 p.m. CEST (5:15 p.m. EDT). It will air on NBC and the Peacock app.

▶ Read the AP’s guide to watching the closing ceremony