Spectators at the closing ceremony of the Paris 2024 Games were able to notice it without having to watch the clock: the entry of the athletes into the Stade de France, Sunday August 11, took a long, very long time. Longer than specified in the sequence. The explanation is purely mathematical: there were more of them than expected taking part in the field on the last evening of the Games. In their estimates, the organizers had envisaged a maximum of 8.000 people – athletes and supervisors. There were actually 9.200 of them. A record for a closing ceremony. Etienne Thobois, the general director of the COJO, explained this to FrancsJeux : " Some athletes had already left. They had left the village and the Games. But they came back for the closing. They wanted to experience the event from the inside one last time before the flame went out. »
