Paris 2024 Paralympics Ends in Style with Rainy Finale

Paris 2024 Paralympics concluded with a vibrant closing ceremony on Sunday, marking the end of a remarkable summer of sport. Despite heavy rain at the Stade de France, the celebration featured 24 French electronic music artists, entertaining 4,400 athletes from 168 Paralympic delegations. Chief organizer Tony Estanguet hailed the event as a “historic summer,” expressing pride in France’s successful hosting of both the Paralympics and the Olympics.

International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons praised the passionate French fans and declared France a new “benchmark” for future Games. British athletes Poppy Maskill and Matt Bush carried the flag for Great Britain during the ceremony. Maskill, 19, won five medals including three golds making her one of Britain’s top performers alongside swimmer Alice Tai and wheelchair racer Sammi Kinghorn.

Bush, 35, secured Great Britain’s first Para-taekwondo title with gold in the men’s K44 +80kg category. Team GB secured second place on the medal table, trailing China, with a total of 124 medals: 49 golds, 44 silvers and 31 bronzes. They matched their overall medal tally from Tokyo 2020 but earned eight additional golds in Paris. The closing ceremony was disrupted by bad weather which stopped the Paralympic flame from rising as planned.

The flame, housed in a hot air balloon could not make its final ascent. French boccia player Aurelie Aubert extinguished the flame, symbolizing the end of the Games. Despite the rain, Paris celebrated with a performance led by electronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre and other DJs.

As the Paris 2024 Paralympics came to a close, the ceremony previewed the upcoming Los Angeles 2028 Games with performances by American rapper Anderson Paak and Broadway star Ali Stoker. Their performances set an exciting tone for the next summer Paralympics in the U.S.