(Paris) Tom Cruise on the roof of the Stade de France, legends of the French Touch as the soundtrack, a memorable handover with Los Angeles: acceleration in the final straight to end the Paris Olympics in style on Sunday.
Two weeks after the enthusiasm triggered by an opening ceremony never seen before on the Seine, bold and inclusive, but criticized by some elected officials and conservative leaders, expectations are high for the closing ceremony from 9 p.m. to 11:15 p.m. at the Stade de France, in Saint-Denis, which notably hosted the athletics events.
Dystopia
Artistic director Thomas Jolly has let slip the ingredients of a thirty-minute show called “Records” (which also means “archives” in English) mixing “wonder” and “dystopia”, a dark genre describing apocalyptic worlds.
The director explained that he saw the Games as a “fragile monument” and imagined with his team – the same as for the opening – that the Olympics had “disappeared and that someone was remaking them in a rather distant future”.
In a short sequence already revealed, “travelers from another space-time arrive on our Earth and discover vestiges linked to the history of the Olympics”. Dancer-acrobats straighten giant rings – symbols of the Olympics – before climbing them.
Shorter than the opening, which began at 7:30 p.m. and ended around 11:30 p.m., the closing will also leave space for the host city of the next Summer Games, Los Angeles, in 2028.
American Stars
The organizers cannot disappoint after an opening that set the bar very high with performances by stars like Lady Gaga, Celine Dion and Aya Nakamura.
For this impossible mission, who better than Tom Cruise, the most daredevil of Hollywood superstars? His presence would make it possible to bridge the gap between Paris, where he filmed some of the most memorable car chases of his career, and Los Angeles.
According to American media, the actor could perform a stunt for the Stade de France crowd and ensure the passage of the Olympic flag between Paris and LA with videos filmed on both sides of the Atlantic.
Which other international stars will accompany him to conclude these Games which have attracted many celebrities to the stands, from rapper Snoop Dogg, a regular spectator, to actors Sharon Stone and Ryan Gosling?
Actor Omar Sy, a darling of French audiences who lives in Los Angeles, would also be a logical choice.
French Touch
An original soundtrack, new reinterpretations, performances and the participation of world-renowned singers have been announced. According to The ParisianAir and Phoenix, headliners of the French Touch, will be there.
Interviewed Wednesday on RTL, Thierry Reboul, executive director of the ceremonies, kept “a part of mystery”. If these names “are correct, we will be very happy. If they are other names, if there are more, […] “We can be trusted to deliver a truly complete line-up,” he said.
Some also dream of a performance by music megastar Beyoncé, a fervent supporter of the US team on her networks.
Street arts
Beyond the stars, more than a hundred performers, acrobats, dancers and circus artists will transform the stadium into a gigantic performance hall with a 2,800 m stage.2We will see dance, contortion, gesture theatre and the influence of street arts.
Part of the show, led by French breakdancer Arthur Cadre, will take place in the air while the giant sets, costumes and lighting effects will project spectators into a journey between past and future.
The rehearsals, hidden until Tuesday “in the suburbs of Paris, in a racecourse”, according to Mr. Reboul, are now taking place “every night”, in “pieces”, at the Stade de France.
Controversy
Will the tone of this show be the same as that of the opening ceremony, celebrating diversity?
The event broke audience records and won over most commentators. But it also drew criticism from religious authorities and conservative and far-right politicians, from the American Donald Trump to the Turk Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who considered it offensive to the Christian religion or immoral.
Thomas Jolly, like some of the artists involved, has since been the victim of violent cyberbullying campaigns, condemned by the organizers and French President Emmanuel Macron, which are being investigated by the courts.
“Positive reviews […] “were still infinitely more numerous than the few negative reviews,” Mr. Reboul stressed. The closing show will therefore “take place as planned,” added the man who intends to “ride on this jubilation that the Games provoke in the stadiums.”
Protocol
In addition to the handover of the Olympic flag between the mayors of Paris and Los Angeles, several protocol highlights are planned: the presentation of the last medals, a parade of athletes, the extinguishing of the flame and the proclamation of the closing of the Games by the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach.