Olympics
Paris bids adieu with first 'woman-to-woman' transfer of Olympic flag
Six athletes blew out the flame in a somber ceremonial moment.
The Olympic flag was handed over to the Mayor of Los Angeles by the Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, in the presence of IOC President Thomas Bach. (Photo credit: Olympics media )
As the curtains came down on the Olympic Games, the iconic Olympic flag descended at the Stade de France and was duly handed over by Paris to Los Angeles.
Mayor Anne Hidalgo of Paris handed over the flag to IOC President Thomas Bach who then passed it along to Karen Bass, the Mayor of Los Angeles.
As a symbolic gesture, celebrated gymnast Simone Biles then received the flag in Karen Bass in what turned out to a first 'woman-to-woman' transfer of the Olympic flag.
Love a moment in history! First woman to woman flag transfer from Paris to LA to commemorate the official hand-off. Let's go!
— LA28 (@LA28) August 11, 2024
"It was an immense honor to participate in this moment of history and it was such a privilege to stand with @Simone_Biles – someone who has made the… pic.twitter.com/ctUDdMiMdX
Soon after, Tom Cruise descended from the stadium in true cinematic style, received the flag from Biles and headed out of the stadium on a motorbike and towards Los Angeles in trademark Mission Impossible style.
Thereafter, a video showed the actor installing the Olympics rings on the famous Hollywood sign at LA.
Dousing of the flame
The ceremony involving the dousing of the flame was a somber moment.
Leon Marchand walked up with the Olympic flame in a lantern and joined the Thomas Bach, and six athletes, one from each continent and one from the Refugee Olympic team.
With Thomas Bach declaring the Games closed, the six athletes and Marchand blew out the flame.
Thereafter, Thomas Back uttered the mandatory words of transition - “In accordance with tradition, I call upon the youth of the world to assemble four years from now in Los Angeles, United States of America, to celebrate with all of us the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad.”
LA awaits
In 2017, the IOC unanimously awarded Los Angeles the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Having previously hosted the Summer Olympics in 1932 and 1984, Los Angeles will become the first non-European country to host the Olympics thrice after Paris (1900,1928, 2024 ) and London(1908,1948, 2012).
As the handover ceremony concluded, Snoop Dogg delivered a performance in what was a glimpse of things to come in LA.
The performance offered a taste of LA's unique blend of entertainment and cultural diversity laced with a promise of an Olympics that would be as groundbreaking as the city itself.
The flame may have been put out in Paris, but the Olympic spirit burns brighter than ever.
