Picture Credit: Twitter/@Paris2024
While it all began with a virus that forced the postponement of the world's biggest sporting extravaganza, it ended as one of the most successful Olympic Games ever . The Tokyo Olympic Games titled 2020 but held in 2021 - was the strangest game in the history of Olympics. However, it was one that instilled a lot of faith and belief in humanity.
After the drama and emotions of the sporting events, the closing ceremony was conducted with the theme "Worlds We Share". Front stunt bikes or elaborate light shows and what not as it attempted to send across the message of a "celebratory and liberating atmosphere" for athletes after a high-pressure couple of weeks. Moreover, Tokyo 2020 got a live feed from Paris, which is the host of the 2024 Summer Games.
The Games would be known for being held in the middle of a pandemic and despite being continuously rejected by various people and facing numerous administrative issues, putting up a great show. The Olympics this time had a logistical nightmare like none other and at one point all of this led to a serious discussion on the mental health of athletes and officials working inside "bubbles."
However, with all that done and dusted the focus now shifts on Paris 2024. During the closing ceremony, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo received an Olympic flag in the Tokyo Stadium on Sunday, which is marked as a traditional pass to the next city. However, the celebration had a few twists to how the handover is generally done.
The French national anthem was played by the National Orchestra of France and then, a live broadcast took viewers straight into the handover celebration in the streets of Paris where the Paris 2024 Olympic flag was unfurled from the Eiffel Tower. Moreover, the Patrouille Acrobatique de France flew over and displayed the country's flag in the sky to mark the handover of the Olympic games.
Watch the video here:
Subsequently, French President Emmanuel Macron also uttered the updated Olympic motto: "Faster, Higher, Stronger. Together." There were also French Olympic athletes who had returned from the games.
The handover ceremony then seemingly happened out of the world when French astronaut Thomas Pesquet tweeted that he and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide had their handover, even displaying the Olympic flag together.