Paralympics closing ceremony has Paris partying

The Paris 2024 Paralympics concluded with a sparkling closing ceremony on Sunday to round off a fantastic summer of sport in the French capital.

Twenty-four artists from the French electronic music scene led a party atmosphere despite heavy rain at the Stade de France in front of 4,400 athletes from 168 Paralympic delegations.

Chief Paris 2024 organiser Tony Estanguet said the Games and the Olympics had created a “historic summer”.

The former Olympic canoeist Estanguet added “France had a date with history, and the country showed up” and said 2024 will be “etched in people’s memories”.

The International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons said France set a “benchmark” for future Games.

“For a country famous for its fashion and its food, France is now famous for its fans,” he said.

Poppy Maskill and Matt Bush were Great Britain’s flagbearers for the ceremony, which closed the 11-day contest.

Maskill, 19, won three golds in a total of five medals, which is the joint most by a British athlete in Paris alongside swimming team-mate Alice Tai and wheelchair racer Sammi Kinghorn.

Bush, 35, won GB’s first title in Para-taekwondo by taking gold in the men’s K44 +80kg.

GB’s 215-strong squad finished second, behind China, in the medal table at Paris with 124 medals (49 golds, 44 silvers and 31 bronzes).

Great Britain matched their overall medal total from Tokyo three years ago but won eight more golds in Paris.

Poor weather did hamper some of the ceremony.

Organisers said the cauldron housing the Paralympic flame, in the form of the base of a hot air balloon, which has risen into the air every evening, was unable to make its last journey skywards from the Tuileries Gardens on Sunday because of high winds and rain.

French boccia player Aurelie Aubert extinguished the Paralympic flame surrounded by other athletes from the host country.

And, with rain pouring down, Paris then partied as French electronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre, 76, introduced an hour-long set featuring numerous DJs.

The next summer Paralympics takes place in Los Angeles, USA in 2028 and Broadway star Ali Stoker sung the American national anthem as part of the closing ceremony.

American rapper Anderson Paak also led a performance against the backdrop of Venice Beach to whet the appetite for the next Games in Los Angeles.