Paris Bids Adieu To Summer With Epic Paralympics Closing Ceremony

SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — This time, it really is au revoir.

A summer sporting bonanza which started under pouring rain on July 26 with a remarkable opening ceremony on the Seine River ended Sunday with the Paralympics closing ceremony at a rain-soaked Stade de France.

It lowers the curtain on successful back-to-back events that captivated fans and raised the bar high for others to follow. Good luck Los Angeles in 2028.

As the stadium was lit up in the blue, white and red colors of the French national flag, a trumpet player played the national anthem “La Marseillaise” and Paralympic flagbearers then made their way into the stadium carrying national flags to the sound of “Chariots of Fire” by Vangelis.

“Everyone can see what an inclusive world is like,” Tony Estanguet, the head of the Paris Olympics in 2024, said in his closing speech. “Now there is no turning back.”

The International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons said France excelled itself as a host in both Games.

“Paris 2024 has set a benchmark for all future Paralympic Games,” Parsons said. “For a country famous for its fashion and its food, France is now famous for its fans.”

The crowd clapped along to a breakdancing set, before Tony Award winner Ali Stroker performed the American national anthem as a part of the handoff to Los Angeles.

Stroker made history in 2019 as the first person who uses a wheelchair to win a Tony Award for her turn as Ado Annie in the Broadway revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!”

In another portion of the screened handoff to LA, Venice Beach Skate Park transformed into a 360-degree stage featuring skateboarders and wheelchair motocross riders.

Then, the crowd roared as famed French electronic music composer