2024 Olympics: Tom Cruise, Phoenix, and the "Golden Traveler"... A Look Back at the Closing Ceremony

The Olympic flame was extinguished Sunday evening during the closing ceremony of the Paris Games, marking the end of 16 days of intense competition. The French women’s basketball team secured a final silver medal, narrowly losing to the United States.

France finished 5th in the overall medal standings with 64 medals, including 16 golds. This marks the country's best performance in Olympic history. The United States led the medal count with 126, but shared the top spot with China for the most gold medals, both earning 40.

The closing ceremony was filled with emotion, featuring performances that captured the spirit of the Games.

One of France's rising stars, Zaho de Sagazan, kicked off the artistic program by singing the timeless classic "Sous le ciel de Paris" at the Tuileries. The 24-year-old artist added a retro touch to the ceremony with this tribute to the capital, a song famously performed by legends like Edith Piaf, Yves Montand, and Mireille Mathieu.

The iconic 7-meter ring ceased glowing as swimmer Leon Marchand, one of the standout athletes with four gold medals, took hold of the lantern containing the Olympic flame. Each night, the flame had been lifted into the Parisian sky by a balloon, becoming one of the most recognizable symbols of the Games. It will be relit for the Paralympics in late August.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo (center), alongside French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal (second from the right), applauds during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris, on August 11, 2024.

The secret was well-kept until the very end, almost. Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, a mountain biking champion, and Antoine Dupont, the star of France’s gold-medal-winning rugby sevens team, were chosen as flag bearers for the closing ceremony at the Stade de France on Sunday evening.

Antoine Dupont is the superstar of the French rugby sevens team, which brought home France’s first gold medal of these Paris Games on July 27 at the Stade de France after defeating Fiji 28-7. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who has dominated mountain biking for a decade, claimed her first Olympic medal, a gold, in her fourth appearance, just a day after the rugby team’s victory, securing France’s second gold of the Games.

Norwegian athletes pose with their medals during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics at the Stade de France on Sunday, August 11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France.

In a historic moment for the Olympics, the women's marathon podium included silver medalist Tigst Assefa from Ethiopia, gold medalist Sifan Hassan from the Netherlands, and bronze medalist Hellen Obiri from Kenya, posing during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics at the Stade de France.

A glimpse shows (top row, center) French President Emmanuel Macron, flanked by his wife Brigitte Macron (second right), and Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games organizing committee president Tony Estanguet (right). In the front row, from right to left, are France's outgoing Minister of Sports and Olympics Amélie Oudéa-Castera, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, all applauding during the closing ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris, on August 11, 2024.

Angolan canoeist Benilson Sanda takes photos with his phone during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris, on August 11, 2024.