Alert – 2024 Paris Olympics closing ceremony: Summer Games come to a close following Team GB claiming 14 gold medals, 65 in total with Billie Eilish and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers set to feature

Snoop Dogg is back in the States after a very visible fortnight in Paris, where he became an unexpected equestrian icon.

He is joined on a third beachside LA stage by Dr Dre for ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’.

That’s it, in terms of tonight’s popular musical performances.

After the Red Hot Chilli Peppers have sung one song – ‘Can’t Stop’ – Billie Eilish, on an even smaller stage a little way along the beach, performs ‘Birds of a Feather’.

Next up, Snoop Dogg…

Paris has officially passed over to Los Angeles.

After the Tom Cruise VT ends, the television coverage cuts to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers performing live… in front of a small crowd on Vence Beach in LA.

After he exits the stadium, the coverage cuts to a pre-recorded (sorry to spoil the illusion) video.

It shows Cruise driving into an aircraft, before jumping out of it.

The flag is then delivered to LA, while the Hollywood sign is decorated with the Olympic rings.

The video’s backing track is ‘By the Way’ by the Red Hot Chill Peppers…

H.E.R. sings the national anthem of the USA. The French crowd tolerates it.

But the noise level rises soon after as Tom Cruise appears on the big screen.

He’s on the roof. Down he jumps – he does his own stunts, you know – before hopping on a nearby motorcycle and driving away with the Olympic flag in tow.

The Olympic anthem is played in the Stade de France.

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo then hands over the Olympic flag to the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass.

This transaction takes place over the Atlantic Ocean on the map-themed stage.

37 athletes across 12 sports represented the IOC Refugee Olympic Team at Paris 2024.

One of those athletes, Cindy Ngamba – who is currently based in Bolton – won a bronze medal in the women’s middleweight boxing event.

Addressing the refugee team, Bach says: ‘You showed us what greatness human beings are capable of. You lived together, you embraced each other even though some countries are divided and at war. You lived in peace.

‘Thank you for making us believe in a better world for everyone.

‘We know the Olympics cannot create peace but it can great a culture of peace that inspires the world.

‘This is why I call on everyone who shares this Olympic spirit. Let us live this culture of peace every single day.’

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach: ‘Despite all the tensions in our world, you came here from all 206 national Olympic committees and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team, to make the City of Light shine brighter than ever before.

‘Your performances were amazing. You competed fiercely against each other. Every contest on the edge of perfection. Every performance sparking excitement around the world. You showed us what greatness we humans are capable of.

‘During all this time, you lived peacefully together under one roof in the Olympic Village. You embraced each other. You respected each other, even if your countries are divided by war and conflict. You created a culture of peace.

‘This inspired all of us and billions of people around the globe. Thank you for making us dream. Thank you for making us believe in a better world for everyone.

‘We know that the Olympic Games cannot create peace. But the Olympic Games can create a culture of peace that inspires the world. This is why I call on everyone who shares this Olympic spirit: let us live this culture of peace every single day.’

Estanguet adds: ‘We knew you would be brilliant but you have been magic.

‘We are so proud of you, bravo to all of you.

‘We are all in love with the Games, the 19 days have passed so quickly and these 19 days will always stay with us.

‘The same venues in two and a half weeks’ time, 4,500 athletes are ready. I invite you on August 28 to the best return match of your lives, be there at the Paralympics 2024.’

Tony Estanguet, president of Paris 2024, says: ‘On the first day of the Paris 2024 adventure, we have been preparing for everything but we could not prepare for that – everything we just lived together.

‘When the athletes travelled along the Seine, Celion Dion sang from the Eiffel Tower and the Olympic Cauldron was lit, a wave rolled out that carried the whole world in it’s wake.

‘Our competition venues will remain in the history of the games. We wanted fervour and excitement, we got passion. We wanted to dream, we had Leon Marchand.

‘Together we lived the games as never seen before, a whale even took part in the the surfing finals in Haiti. From one day to the next, time stopped and a whole country vibrated. France rediscovered itself. From one day to the next, the whole of France became Olympic.

‘All that was possible because of you all, who met up – the millions of spectators.’

The music is paused as two men dressed in suits take to the stage to address the crowd.

They are president of Paris 2024 Tony Estanguet and IOC president Thomas Bach.

No sign of Billie Eilish yet but Cambodian rapper Vannda joins Phoenix on stage for a brief collab.

Next, up comes Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend.

The athletes move closer to the centre of the stadium, symbolising them taking over the world (because of the map on the ground) and the Games, I think.

The stage is therefore now much smaller now, but there is enough space for a local band, called Phoenix, to get the popular music section underway.

The golden voyager is eventually joined on stage by a team of helpers, seemingly also from another planet.

They then assemble the famous five Olympic rings before they are raised to the sky as fireworks explode behind them.

Good work, aliens.

The alien, dubbed the ‘golden voyager’, appears to be telling the story of how the Olympics were formed in ancient Greece, and later relaunched in the 1890s.

After the voyager’s journey of discovery ends, the oldest hymn from ancient Greece, The Hymn to Apollo, is performed in the stadium.

The stadium lights go out as the artsy section of the show begins.

Organisers had promised that artistic director Thomas Jolly’s show was going to be a ‘very visual, very choreographic, very acrobatic show with an operatic dimension to give a great visual fresco and say goodbye to athletes from all over the world.’

It starts with an alien figure descending on the Stade de France.

45,000 volunteers from 150 different countries helped make Paris 2024 happen.

Around a hundred of them just entered the stadium to receive thanks from the crowd.

The national anthem of the Netherlands is played after women’s marathon winner Sifan Hassan is given her gold medal.

Hassan set a new Olympic record earlier today when she finished first in a time of 2:22:58.

The athletes have now settled in position by the side of the stage.

‘We Are The Champions’ was just played over the speaker system, giving all Olympic champions the perfect opportunity to grab their gold medals as the camera panned by.

Among the champions in attendance is Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who was greeted warmly by the crowd upon her arrival.

There are still a handful of medals to be presented following the conclusion of the competition earlier today.

A podium is being set up for those awards to be dished out.

As we wait, the stadium DJ belts out some karaoke classics to keep the crowd entertained.

It had been widely rumoured that Tom Cruise was going to be among the performers at the Stade de France.

And indeed the man is here tonight!

Stay tuned for stunts…

After the flagbearers have all been introduced, the rest of the athletes – hundreds of them – enter the arena.

The French contingent are lapping up the love from the home crowd.

This process is much more swift and efficient than at the opening ceremony.

Now the crowd is engaged as flag-waving athletes enter the arena two by two.

Trampoline gold medallist Bryony Page and triathlon champion Alex Yee are the Team GB flagbearers.

The first live musical number inside the Stade de France is a choral rendition of Sous le Ciel.

It’s pretty impressive but seemingly not what the fans have come to see.

The performance is frequently interrupted by whooping and cheering from the stands.

The Olympic flame has been collected from the cauldron in the Tuileries garden.

It will now make its way to the Stade de France.

I had said that tonight’s closing ceremony was all taking place inside the Stade de France.

That is seemingly not 100% accurate as the first song of the night is being performed in the Tuileries Garden.

It is shown on the big screens in the stadium.

This is a gentle start to the evening and very French. Expect the night to get much more American as it goes on.

Music begins to play and the stage is revealed.

It is a replica of the world map.

The 80,000-capacity Stade de France is completely sold out for tonight’s event.

However, the stadium is not completely full just yet.

Hurry up latecomers, the ceremony is only five minutes away.

There’s little more than 20 minutes to go until the party gets underway at the Stade de France.

LA28 has confirmed that Californians Billie Eilish, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Snoop Dogg are performing tonight.

Meanwhile, H.E.R. will sing the Star Spangled Banner in Paris as France passes the baton over to the USA ahead of the next Games.

There have also been rumours about Tom Cruise being involved in some capacity but nothing has been officially confirmed at this stage.

The closing ceremony is expected to be fun, colourful and exciting.

However, it is likely to be a more simple occasion than the opening ceremony just over a fortnight ago.

For one, it is taking place at the Stade de France, rather than all over Paris.

Also, no rain is forecast in Paris this evening.

Revisit the opening ceremony below with the photo gallery below.

As previously mentioned, the USA finished first, with Team GB seventh.

Click below to see the table in full.

Great Britain ended the Games with 14 golds, 22 silvers and 29 bronzes.

Only the USA (129) and China (91) won more medals than Team GB (65).

However, Britain ended seventh in the medal table because Japan, , France and the Netherlands all won more golds.

Great Britain finished fourth at Tokyo three years ago with 22 golds, 20 silvers and 22 bronzes (64 overall).

Earlier this summer, multiple American television channels were mocked for claiming that Team USA were top of the medal table.

China were leading at that point based on the official table, which ranks nations based primarily on how many golds they have won.

But the USA had won more medals overall.

Well, the USA ended the Games with 40 golds – double the tally of any other nation other than China.

China also won 40 golds, but were 35 behind the Americans overall.

So yeah, Team USA win

the Olympics!

The final day of competition at the 2024 Olympic Games began early with the women’s marathon, which was won by Sifan Hassan in an Olympic record time of 2:22:55.

Then came the finales of the handball, water polo, wrestling, weightlifting, pentathlon and track cycling events.

The final sporting competition of the Games was the women’s basketball gold medal match between France and the USA, with the Americans winning 67-66

Well then…

That was the 2024 Olympic Games.

All of the events have finished and all of the medals dished out. Now all that remains is tonight’s closing ceremony, which is due to begin at 8pm (UK time).

Stick with Mail Sport to follow the action live as the show concludes at the Stade de France.