The Squiz 

After 2 weeks of early morning/late night action, the Paris Olympic Games are getting to the pointy end, culminating in what’s being billed as a “majestic” indoor event for the Closing Ceremony titled ‘Records’ that kicks off at 5am on Monday morning our time. Paris 2024 has been our most successful Olympics ever, and this morning we are still sitting third on the medal tally. And it’s been an especially good time for our women who’ve won 13 of the 18 Gold medals so far. 

We’ve done pretty well, right? 

The legacy of the Paris Games as we head towards Brisbane 2032 looks set to have a lasting impact on our next generation of sports stars. But before we look that far forward there are more medal opportunities for Australia in these Games… Jess Hull has the 1,500m final on Sunday morning. There’s also the Opals semi-final match against the USA tomorrow night – a win would see our women’s basketballers through to Sunday’s medal match and possibly back on the podium for the first time since London 2012. And our women’s water polo team are through to the gold medal game against Spain tomorrow night. Assume the position on the sofa and prep for some late nights/early mornings… 

What will the Closing Ceremony look like?

It’s all a bit hush-hush, but artistic director Thomas Jolly is back at the helm, and this time it’ll be contained inside the Stade de France that seats 80,000 people – organisers say the change in approach from the Opening Ceremony will “ensure that everyone can enjoy the party right up to the last second”. There will be acrobats, dancers and circus artists along with some celeb cameos… Reports say Tom Cruise will descend from the top of the stadium before switching to a pre-recorded stunt skydiving past the Hollywood sign to fly the Olympic flag from Paris to the next host city Los Angeles. We’ll also see the usual athletes’ parade, the passing of the Olympic flag, and the extinguishing of the Olympic flame. French bands Phoenix and Air are expected to play, and there are even rumours that Taylor Swift – who’s in Europe for her Eras tour – might perform. Until then, c’mon Aussie…