As the Olympic competition wound down Sunday, Paris police and security services shifted their focus to the closing ceremony that will bring the curtain down on the 2024 Summer Games. More than 30,000 police officers were deployed around the French capital and beyond to watch over the last Olympic events, the AP reports, which included the women's marathon, women's modern pentathlon in Versailles, and women's basketball final between France and the US. Hours before the closing ceremony, police evacuated the area around the Eiffel Tower after a shirtless man was seen climbing the 1,083-foot-tall landmark. Police intervened, and the man was detained.
Bookending the lavish open-air ceremony that kicked off the Games, the Paris closing show will take place at the Stade de France in the northern suburb of Saint-Denis at 9pm—3pm EDT. It's scheduled to last just over two hours, organizers said. A parade of flags and athletes is to begin an hour earlier in the Stade de France, per CBS News. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said there is "no (terrorist) threat that would specifically target the closing ceremony." About 3,000 police troops were to be deployed well into Sunday night around the Stade de France, in addition to at least 20,000 police and other security personnel already mobilized in Paris and the Saint-Denis area, per the AP.
They will ensure the safety of heads of states attending the closing ceremony, fans using public transport to reach the stadium and their accommodations late at night, as well as the athletes' last night at the Olympic Village, Darmanin said. The ceremony includes the awarding of final medals, extinguishing of the Olympic flame, and presentation of the Olympic flag to a representative of Los Angeles, which is hosting the next Olympics. The moment "will be solemn and emotional, but it will also be a time for celebration," Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet said.
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