International correspondent
Paris 2024 Olympic Games: What you need to know about the closing ceremony
While the Olympic Games opening ceremony celebrated two North American superstars, Lady Gaga and Celine Dion, the closing party will honor two iconic French bands, Phoenix and Air, the event's executive director Thierry Reboul confirmed in an interview with Variety.
Reboul, who produced the successful and controversial opening ceremony along the Seine and recently filed a police complaint after receiving death threats over the event, is now working with artistic director Thomas Jolly on final preparations for the closing event.
"We've tried to promote French talent from the beginning, even when we had international stars (Céline Dion and Lady Gaga); every time it was a promotion of a French artist," Reboul said. "Of course, we always have in mind to put the spotlight on our country." Gaga, who had to pre-record her performance in anticipation of the pouring rain, did indeed sing in French, paying tribute to Zizi Jeanmaire's cabaret-inspired "Mon Truc en Plumes," while Dion made an emotional return to the stage with Edith Piaf's "L'Hymne à l'amour."
