Olympics
What to expect as Paris 2024 ends tonight
The Paris 2024 Olympics come to a close this Sunday night. The Olympics officially opened in Paris on Friday, July 26, though some team events started earlier on July 24.
The last day of athletic competition is this Sunday, which is the same day as the closing ceremony.
The ceremony will feature a parade of flags and and athletes which will hold at the Stade de France. The closing ceremony at Tokyo 2020 lasted for about three hours.
The closing ceremony is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. local time which is 8pm in Nigeria.
Several athletic competitions are scheduled for Sunday, ahead of the closing ceremony. They are women’s marathon, women’s basketball, cycling, men’s handball, women’s modern pentathlon, women’s volleyball, men’s water polo, women’s weightlifting and wrestling.
There are several elements considered key components of the Olympic closing ceremony.
First the head of state of the host country enters along with the International Olympic Committee president. Then the national anthem of the host country is played or sung as the host nation’s flag is raised.
Other traditional elements include a parade of flags, a parade of athletes and the handover of the Olympic flag to a representative of the city hosting the Olympics in four years: in this case, Los Angeles.
Some final medals are also given out during the closing ceremony. At the end, the Olympic flame is extinguished.
Thomas Jolly, who was artistic director of the opening ceremony will also be artistic director for the closing ceremony.
“At the Stade de France, where the greatest stars of athletics and rugby sevens will have competed, the moment will be solemn and emotional, but it will also be a time for celebration,” Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet has said.
“Finally, the pressure will be off, and everyone will be able to take full advantage of the absolutely exceptional show that is being planned under the direction of Thomas Jolly, with the help of all the teams working across the four Paris 2024 ceremonies.
Innovative, surprising and brilliant, these ceremonies already promise to be very powerful, just like “Records”, which has everything it takes to make a mark on the history of Closing Ceremonies”
The Olympic rings installed on the Eiffel Tower since June to celebrate the upcoming Olympic Games were removed from the Parisian monument early on Friday morning, as confirmed by an AFP photographer. But the Paris City Hall intends to replace them with a more permanent structure until 2028.
The five-coloured rings, measuring 29 metres in length and 15 metres in height, were placed between the first and second levels of the iconic iron structure on 7 June.
According to Inside the Games publication, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo wants the Olympic symbol to continue decorating the monument until the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
But the descendants of the tower’s creator, Gustave Eiffel are opposing the move. They are insisting that the Olympic rings are aesthetically in conflict with the concept and design of the Tower.
The 30-tonne rings initially installed on the Eiffel Tower were also not designed to withstand winter weather conditions.
Olympics
Despite Egypt winning 3 medals at Paris Olympics, President Al-Sisi orders sports system overhaul
Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi ordered a comprehensive evaluation of sports federations that participatedat the Paris Olympic Games, following a mission report submitted by the country’s sports minister.
The mandate includes a thorough expenditure check and a performance review to better highlight areas of improvement and fund allocation in future Games.
Additionally, the president plans to take necessary measures against federations —such as limiting funds— that had negative results in the Paris Games.
Egypt’s participation in sports where it lacks a competitive advantage will also be limited, as the president aims to direct resources to promising athletes to ensure optimal results. The president also aims to reduce administrative and technical staff within Olympic delegations and task relevant ministries with preparing future Olympic athletes.
Al-Sisi’s Olympic overhaul is to be presented to the cabinet for approval and urged the government to prioritise amending the sports law for the House of Representatives for review.
Egypt took home a total of three medals in the Summer Games. Ahmed El-Gendy triumphed in modern pentathlon, Sara Samir claimed the silver in weightlifting, and 21-year-old fencer Mohamed El-Sayed earned the bronze.
-Insidethegames
Paris 2024 sold a record 12 million tickets for the Olympics and Paralympics, beating the Games record previously set by London 2012, organisers said on Sunday.
Some 9.5 million tickets were sold for the Olympics and 2.5 million for the Paralympics, which end on Sunday.
In 2012, London organisers set the record for the Paralympics with 2.7 million tickets sold but only 8.2 million were sold for the Olympics.
-Reuters
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