15 September 2024 – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) yesterday awarded the prestigious Olympic Cup to the people of France, at a magnificent ceremony in Paris to celebrate the success of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024.

More than 70,000 spectators gathered on the Champs-Élysées and around the Arc de Triomphe to honour the 300 French athletes who won Olympic and Paralympic medals. This celebration, which was broadcast live on French TV and watched by over 10 million people, also paid tribute to all the French people – volunteers, professionals and supporters – whose contribution was key to the success of these Games.

The spectacular event provided the perfect backdrop for the IOC to award the people of France the Olympic Cup, created in 1906 by the founder of the modern Games, Pierre de Coubertin, and traditionally awarded to organisations or communities for their exceptional commitment to sport and the Olympic values.

At the foot of the Arc de Triomphe, IOC President Thomas Bach presented the Olympic Cup to a group of four volunteers and supporters representing the people of France, in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron, French Prime Minister Michel Barnier, Mayor of Paris Anne Hildago, Organising Committee President Tony Estanguet, representatives of the various authorities involved in the Paris 2024 organisation, and the President of the French National and Olympic Sports Committee, David Lappartient.

Addressing the thousands of spectators watching the ceremony, the IOC President said:

“This summer, you, the people of France truly took the Olympic Games to your hearts. You created an incomparable atmosphere in the streets of Paris and all over France. You welcomed the athletes from every country with the same warmth and enthusiasm – regardless of political divisions and tensions.”

Thomas Bach – IOC President

President Bach then stressed the importance of the public to the success of these Games: “The French public were a real Olympic public. You embraced the Olympic values. You fell in love with the Olympic Games, and we fell in love with all of you.”

“Thank you, France!” he concluded, expressing the Olympic Movement’s gratitude to France and its people, to the cheers of the crowd gathered on the Champs-Élysées.

Inauguration of the Olympic rings on the Pont d’Iéna

Before the ceremony on the Champs-Élysées, another symbolic inauguration took place: that of the Olympic rings on the Pont d’Iéna, an iconic Paris monument that played a central role in the Games festivities. On this occasion, Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo paid tribute to the collective achievement of Parisians and the organisers: “These Games provided an enormous opportunity for our city. They enabled us to reveal our strengths, but also to see what needs to be improved. These were outstanding Games that will remain engraved in the hearts of all Parisians and all French people.”

IOC President Thomas Bach added: “As an adopted Parisian, I am delighted to be returning home. I would like to thank and congratulate Anne Hidalgo for not only supporting, but also leading, this Olympic Games Paris 2024 project from the very start. For almost nine years, we have worked together on these Paris Games, which will remain in our hearts, but also in the hearts of so many people around the world, as more than half of the world’s population watched these Games and celebrated with us.”

Mayor Hidalgo also announced that the Olympic rings will remain on the Pont d’Iéna, which is now partly pedestrianised, thus maintaining this link between Parisians and the legacy of the Games.

Awarding of the Grand Vermeil Medal of the City of Paris to Thomas Bach

In a more intimate, but equally symbolic, setting at the Petit Palais, Mayor Hidalgo presented the Grand Vermeil Medal of the City of Paris, the capital’s highest distinction, to President Bach for his essential role in the organisation of the Paris 2024 Games. “Your career as an athlete, during which you won a medal at the Montreal Games in 1976, is testament to your determination and endurance,” said Mayor Hidalgo. “But as President of the IOC, you have been able to go beyond that, thinking about how the Olympic Games could make a positive contribution to the world, in the humanist spirit of Pierre de Coubertin.”

“Back in 2013, long before our involvement, you put in place an innovative agenda for the IOC, Olympic Agenda 2020, which focused on environmental and social sustainability,” she added. “It was this commitment that convinced me that Paris could play an important role in this new Games era. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, on behalf of Paris, for everything you have achieved.”

President Bach, who was visibly moved, responded with immense gratitude: “This medal is an honour that I will cherish. Paris has embodied the Olympic spirit with exemplary passion and commitment. This link between the values of the Games and those of the city of Paris will remain in my heart forever.”