12 August 2024, 09:15
By Kyle Macdonald
After a star-studded opening and two weeks of unforgettable competition, here’s all the music that we’re hearing at tonight’s 2024 Olympics Closing Ceremony in Paris.
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A parade on the Seine, Bizet’s Carmen, and a rooftop ‘La Marseillaise’ were all part of the spectacular opening ceremony to the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Music starred, but so did the rainy weather. A fierce debate soon erupted after a soaked orchestra played ‘Olympic Hymn’ in rain covers.
Thankfully, the weather appears to be much more favourable for Sunday night’s closing ceremony. Here’s a look at the music we’re hearing, and a full list of artists and performers, in Paris.
Read more: What music was at the Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony?
Where is the 2024 Paris Olympics closing ceremony taking place?
The ceremony began at 9pm local time – 8pm BST in the UK –with a local finish time of 11.30pm. Paris’ main sports stadium, the Stade de France is the venue to bring the 33rd Olympiad of the modern era to a close.
“For the occasion, the Stade de France will be transformed into a gigantic concert hall,” organisers have said.
Thomas Jolly, artistic director of the Paris 2024 ceremonies has promised ‘operatic’ dimensions to the ceremony.
“It's a very visual, very choreographic, very acrobatic show with an operatic dimension to give a great visual fresco and say goodbye to athletes from all over the world,” Jolly said ahead of Sunday’s show.
Read more: Top 10 classical music performances at the Olympic Games
What music is at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics?
French singer-songwriter Zaho de Sagazan opened the closing ceremony with ‘Sous le ciel de Paris’, backed by the choir of the Handel Hendrix Academy in the spectacular Tuileries gardens. Written for the 1951 French film of the same name, it was sung then by Jean Bretonnière, and covered a few years later by Edith Piaf.
As French swimmer Léon Marchand drew our eye from the Tuileries to the Stade de France, the Divertimento Symphony Orchestra conducted by founder Zahia Ziouani appeared – making up under a hundred of the 270 total artists and performers who will be involved in the closing ceremony.
Ziouani and her orchestra performed Victor le Masne’s joyously brassy, full-bodied new arrangement of the French national anthem ‘La Marseillaise’ alongside the Maîtrise de Fontainebleau choir, as President Emmanuel Macron entered the stadium and greeted the crowd of 71,500.
When the orchestra revealed they would be playing, they shared a selfie with Tom Cruise, who is expected to be starring in a high-flying stunt segment later on in the ceremony.
After the parade of the athletes, a giant karaoke rendition of Joe Dassin’s ‘Les Champs-Elysées’ erupted in the stadium, alongside other suitably French anthems including ‘Emmenez-moi’ by Charles Aznavour. Queen’s ‘We are the Champions’ then sounded through the auditorium.
The national anthem of the Netherlands rang out for Ethiopian-Dutch Olympic champion Sifan Hassan, who took gold in the women’s marathon.
‘Records’, a new piece in celebration of the athletes’ accolades, was performed by the Divertimento orchestra.
As is protocol during the Closing Ceremony, the Greek flag was raised and the country’s national anthem played, in celebration of the ancient Olympic Games which began exactly 2,800 years ago, in 776 BC in Ancient Greece.
We then witnessed a spectacular performance featuring a floating piano. French tenor Benjamin Bernheim sang a new arrangement of Fauré’s Hymne à Apollon (Hymn to Apollo), which was composed for the first Olympic congress in 1893.
Bernheim was joined by pianist and composer Alain Roche, who has become renowned for his gravity-defying piano stunts. Roche’s Yamaha grand piano was suspended vertically within the Stade de France.
Bernheim told Classic FM it was a huge honour to sing at this ceremony and represent by country in this iconic stadium and moment. I love this Fauré song which I discovered through this project. I especially love the new arrangement and that connection to the first modern Olympic Games.”
French band Phœnix took over the stage, and the music stepped up in tempo as they performed their hit song ‘Lisztomania’ surrounded by athletes. Belgian singer-songwriter Angèle joined the group and sang popular song ‘Nightcall’, followed by ‘If I Ever Feel Better’.
Kaminsky,Air,Vannda and Ezra Koenig, the lead singer of US band Vampire Weekend – to give an American flavour as the Games is set to transfer across the pond for 2028 – also made appearances.
After the Olympic Flag was lowered and handed to LA, ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ was performed by Emmy, Grammy and Oscar-winning Californian artist H.E.R..
Following a high-flying stunt segment from Tom Cruise, theRed Hot Chili Peppers played in the background – two of a few American musical connections to begin the next chapter of the Summer Olympic story.
Performing from California, we heard from the Chili Peppers and Billie Eilish as well as Snoop Dogg, who is in Paris for the Games. Then, to close the event was Yseult with a rendition of Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’, which is based on the French song ‘Comme d’habitude’.
Who is the music director of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic games?
French composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist Victor le Masne is the games’ musical director and will once again be offering his direction for the finale.
Le Masne is also half of the popular French synth-pop duo ‘Housse de Racket’. He is responsible for the music at all ceremonies for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with 600 musicians expected to take part in total.
Ahead of the opening ceremony, the musician said “it was really important to bring a lot of different styles, so you can expect anything”.
He certainly delivered during the opening ceremony, with an eclectic musical offering which featured everything from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera blasted from an organ and synth Dvořák, to pop icon Lady Gaga and Édith Piaf’s ‘Hymne à l’amour’ from superstar Canadian singer Celine Dion.
We will be expecting more modern twists on classical music in the closing ceremony, with similar nods to classic and new. French composer Clément Mirguet has also been named as being involved in the ceremony.
