And so, it’s over. The Paris Olympics drew to a close on Sunday (11 August) after
two weeks of thrills, spills and bellyaches with a closing ceremony with a lot
riding on it.
After the mixed reception to the rain-drenched river-centric opening
ceremony, organisers knew they had to pull out all the stops to win over the
naysayers.
Mostly, they did it. At least the show was in the stadium
this time, with an audience that could see it – in contrast to the opening
ceremony’s dispersed presence along the Seine.
After the traditional arrival of the athletes in the stadium
with their flags, it was down to business for the main spectacle, which
involved a sparkly-clad character apparently called the Golden Voyager
assembling the five Olympic rings high above the stadium with the assistance of
a team of grey clad dancers and acrobats. I love this kind of high-concept nonsense,
so I was enthralled, but judging by the reaction on my social media feeds (well,
the family WhatsApp) others were less enamoured.
Thus followed the musical section of the evening. Now, given
that the biggest and most critically acclaimed dance act of the 21st
century, Daft Punk, are French, this should have been an absolute open goal. Get
Lucky, One More Time, Around The World… it would have been a party for the
ages. Unfortunately for the organisers, Daft Punk are not a going concern and
probably wouldn’t have shown up even if they were, so we were forced to make do
with a concert centred around indie-hipsters Phoenix - a sort of French version
of The Strokes - who with the best will in the world, don’t have any songs that
a global audience actually knows.
They were joined by a series of guest stars, the most famous
of whom appeared to be the lead singer of Vampire Weekend. It all felt a little
underpowered. Nonetheless everyone seemed to be having a good time, which was the
main thing, and it definitely brought the Gallic poise and cool.
Then it was time for the US to bring the glitz. The handover
for Los Angeles 2028 kicked off with Tom Cruise abseiling off the roof of the
stadium, grabbing the Olympic flag and screeching out of the stadium on a
motorbike. It was exactly the kind of star power and wow factor that had been
missing all evening.
Following a pre-filmed segment in which Tom Cruise got to do
a lot of very Tom Cruise things, we were thrust onto Venice Beach for a
mini-concert featuring some of the biggest names in music: Red Hot Chili
Peppers, Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre. It was an embarrassment of
riches compared to what had gone before, and showed exactly what we can expect
in four years’ time. Namely, that the LA opening and closing ceremonies look
set to be an absolute treat. Roll on 2028!
