voyager 1 first photo

Voyager 1: First Picture of the Earth and Moon in a Single Frame

Earth and Moon photographed together by NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft on September 18, 1977.

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40 years ago: voyager 1 explores jupiter, johnson space center.

Today, Voyager 1 is the most distant spacecraft from Earth, more than 13 billion miles away. Forty years ago, fairly close to the beginning of its incredible journey through and out of our solar system, it was making its closest approach to Jupiter. Although it was not the first to explore the giant planet, Pioneer 10 and 11 completed earlier flybys in 1973 and 1974, respectively, Voyager carried sophisticated instruments to conduct more in-depth investigations. Managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, the Voyagers were a pair of spacecraft launched in 1977 to explore the outer planets. Initially targeted only to visit Jupiter and Saturn, Voyager 2 went on to investigate Uranus and Neptune as well, taking advantage of a rare planetary alignment that occurs once every 175 years to use the gravity of one planet to redirect it to the next.

                              Left: Launch of Voyager 1. Middle: Model of the Voyager spacecraft. Right: The first single-frame image of the                               Earth-Moon system, taken by Voyager 1.

The suite of 11 instruments included: an imaging science system consisting of narrow-angle and wide-angle cameras to photograph the planet and its satellites; a radio science system to determine the planet’s physical properties; an infrared interferometer spectrometer to investigate local and global energy balance and atmospheric composition; an ultraviolet spectrometer to measure atmospheric properties; a magnetometer to analyze the planet’s magnetic field and interaction with the solar wind; a plasma spectrometer to investigate microscopic properties of plasma ions; a low energy charged particle device to measure fluxes and distributions of ions; a cosmic ray detection system to determine the origin and behavior of cosmic radiation; a planetary radio astronomy investigation to study radio emissions from Jupiter; a photopolarimeter to measure the planet’s surface composition; and a plasma wave system to study the planet’s magnetosphere.

                          Left: Schematic of the Voyager spacecraft, illustrating the science experiments . Right: Trajectory of Voyager 1 through the                          Jovian system.

Two weeks after its launch from Florida on Sep. 5, 1977, Voyager 1 turned its cameras back toward its home planet and took the first single-frame image of the Earth-Moon system, providing a taste of future discoveries at the outer planets. It successfully crossed the asteroid belt between Dec. 10, 1977, and Sep. 8, 1978. The spacecraft began its encounter phase with the Jovian system on Jan. 6, 1979, sending back its first images and taking the first science measurements. On Mar. 5, still inbound toward the planet, it flew at 262,000 miles of Jupiter’s small inner moon Amalthea, taking the first close-up photograph of that satellite revealing it to be oblong in shape and reddish in color. About five hours later, Voyager 1 made its closest approach to Jupiter, flying within 174,000 miles of the planet’s cloud tops. On the outbound leg of its encounter, it flew by and imaged the large satellites Io (closest approach of 12,800 miles), Europa (456,000 miles), Ganymede (71,300 miles), and Callisto (78,600 miles), all discovered by Italian astronomer Galileo in 1610 using his newly invented telescope. The Voyager images revealed each satellite to have a unique appearance, the most remarkable discovery being an active volcano on Io. Voyager 1 also discovered two previously unknown moons orbiting Jupiter, later named Thebe and Metis.  Looking back at Jupiter as it was backlit by the Sun, Voyager 1 discovered that the planet is surrounded by a thin ring. Observations of Jupiter concluded on Apr. 13.

                                   Left: Voyager 1 image of Jupiter and its Great Red Spot, with Io (at left) and Europa transiting in front of the planet.                                  Right: Composite image of Jupiter’s four large Galilean satellites, shown to scale (clockwise from top left) Io, Europa,                                  Callisto, and Ganymede.

After its successful exploration of the Jovian system, Voyager 1 sailed on toward Saturn. During its encounter in November 1980, the spacecraft returned a wealth of information about the planet, its spectacular rings and its satellites especially Titan, known to have a dense atmosphere. Saturn’s gravity imparted enough acceleration on Voyager 1 that it achieved escape velocity from the solar system.  More than 41 years after its launch, several of the spacecraft’s instruments are still returning useful data about conditions on the very edges of the solar system and even beyond.  In August 2012, Voyager 1 crossed the heliopause, the boundary between the heliosphere, the bubble-like region of space created by the Sun, and the interstellar medium.  It is expected that Voyager 1 will continue to return data from interstellar space until about 2025. And just in case it may one day be found by an alien intelligence, Voyager 1 and its twin carry gold plated records that contain information about its home planet, including recordings of terrestrial sounds, music and greetings in 55 languages. Instructions on how to play the record are also included.

                                  Left: Voyager 1 took the image of Jupiter backlit by the Sun, and discovered that the planet has a thin ring system.                                  Right: The gold disc carried by each Voyager.

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This Day In History : February 14

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“Pale Blue Dot” photo of Earth is taken

On Valentine's Day, 1990, 3.7 billion miles away from the sun, the Voyager 1 spacecraft takes a photograph of Earth. The picture, known as Pale Blue Dot , depicts our planet as a nearly indiscernible speck roughly the size of a pixel.

Launched on September 5, 1977, Voyagers 1 and 2 were charged with exploring the outer reaches of our solar system. It passed by Jupiter in March of 1979 and Saturn the following year. The gaps between the outer planets are so vast that it was another decade before it passed by Neptune and arrived at the spot where it was to take a series of images of the planets, known as the "Family Portrait" of our solar system.

Of the Family Portrait series, Pale Blue Dot was certainly the most memorable. The furthest image ever taken of Earth, it lent its name to popular astronomer Carl Sagan's 1994 book. Sagan, who advised the Voyager mission and had suggested the photo, wrote the following: "Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there—on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam."

Voyager 1's journey continues. In 1998, it became the most distant human-made object in space, and on August 25, 2012, it left the furthest reaches of the sun's magnetic field and solar winds, becoming the first man-made object in interstellar space. 

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St. Valentine beheaded

Olympic speed skater dan jansen falls after sister dies, theodore roosevelt’s wife and mother die, first trainload of oranges leaves los angeles, lillian hellman sues mary mccarthy for libel, the st. valentine’s day massacre, ussr and prc sign mutual defense treaty, sandinistas agree to free elections, patriots defeat loyalists at kettle creek.

Early Voyager 1 Images of Jupiter

Each of the pictures was produced from blue, green, and orange originals in JPL's Image Processing Laboratory.

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• VG Imaging Science Subsystem - Narrow Angle

Voyager 1: Facts about Earth's farthest spacecraft

Voyager 1 continues to explore the cosmos along with its twin probe, Voyager 2.

The Grand Tour

Voyager 1 jupiter flyby, voyager 1 visits saturn and its moons, voyager 1 enters interstellar space, voyager 1's interstellar adventures, additional resources.

Voyager 1 is the first spacecraft to travel beyond the solar system and reach interstellar space . 

The probe launched on Sept. 5, 1977 — about two weeks after its twin Voyager 2 — and as of August 2022 is approximately 14.6 billion miles (23.5 billion kilometers) away from our planet, making it Earth 's farthest spacecraft. Voyager 1 is currently zipping through space at around 38,000 mph (17 kilometers per second), according to NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory .

When Voyager 1 launched a mission to explore the outer planets in our solar system nobody knew how important the probe would still be 45 years later The probe has remained operational long past expectations and continues to send information about its journeys back to Earth. 

Related: Celebrate 45 years of Voyager with these amazing images of our solar system (gallery)

• Voyager Spacecraft: Beyond the Solar System
• Voyager 2: An iconic spacecraft that's still exploring 45 years on

Elizabeth Howell, Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022. She was contributing writer for  Space.com  for 10 years before that, since 2012. Elizabeth's on-site reporting includes two human spaceflight launches from Kazakhstan, three space shuttle missions in Florida, and embedded reporting from a simulated Mars mission in Utah. 

Size: Voyager 1's body is about the size of a subcompact car. The boom for its magnetometer instrument extends 42.7 feet (13 meters). Weight (at launch): 1,797 pounds (815 kilograms). Launch date: Sept. 5, 1977

Jupiter flyby date: March 5, 1979

Saturn flyby date: Nov. 12, 1980.

Entered interstellar space: Aug. 25, 2012. 

The spacecraft entered interstellar space in August 2012, almost 35 years after its voyage began. The discovery wasn't made official until 2013, however, when scientists had time to review the data sent back from Voyager 1.

Voyager 1 was the second of the twin spacecraft to launch, but it was the first to race by Jupiter and Saturn . The images Voyager 1 sent back have been used in schoolbooks and by many media outlets for a generation. The spacecraft also carries a special record — The Golden Record — that's designed to carry voices and music from Earth out into the cosmos. 

According to NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) , Voyager 1 has enough fuel to keep its instruments running until at least 2025. By then, the spacecraft will be approximately 13.8 billion miles (22.1 billion kilometers) away from the sun.  

The Voyager missions took advantage of a special alignment of the outer planets that happens just once every 176 years. This alignment allows spacecraft to gravitationally "slingshot" from one planet to the next, making the most efficient use of their limited fuel.

NASA originally planned to send two spacecraft past Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto and two other probes past Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune . Budgetary reasons forced the agency to scale back its plans, but NASA still got a lot out of the two Voyagers it launched.

Voyager 2 flew past Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune , while Voyager 1 focused on Jupiter and Saturn.

Recognizing that the Voyagers would eventually fly to interstellar space, NASA authorized the production of two Golden Records to be placed on board the spacecraft. Sounds ranging from whale calls to the music of Chuck Berry were placed on board, as well as spoken greetings in 55 languages. 

The 12-inch-wide (30 centimeters), gold-plated copper disks also included pictorials showing how to operate them and the position of the sun among nearby pulsars (a type of fast-spinning stellar corpse known as a neutron star ), in case extraterrestrials someday stumbled onto the spacecraft and wondered where they came from.

Both spacecraft are powered by three radioisotope thermoelectric generators , devices that convert the heat released by the radioactive decay of plutonium to electricity. Both probes were outfitted with 10 scientific instruments, including a two-camera imaging system, multiple spectrometers, a magnetometer and gear that detects low-energy charged particles and high-energy cosmic rays . Mission team members have also used the Voyagers' communications system to help them study planets and moons, bringing the total number of scientific investigations on each craft to 11.

Voyager 1 almost didn't get off the ground at its launch , as its rocket came within 3.5 seconds of running out of fuel on Sept. 5, 1977.

But the probe made it safely to space and raced past its twin after launch, getting beyond the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter before Voyager 2 did. Voyager 1's first pictures of Jupiter beamed back to Earth in April 1978, when the probe was 165 million miles (266 million kilometers) from home.

According to NASA , each voyager probe has about 3 million times less memory than a mobile phone and transmits data approximately 38,000 times slower than a 5g internet connection.  

To NASA's surprise, in March 1979 Voyager 1 spotted a thin ring circling the giant planet. It found two new moons as well — Thebe and Metis. Additionally, Voyager 1 sent back detailed pictures of Jupiter's big Galilean moons ( Io , Europa , Ganymede and Callisto ) as well as Amalthea .

Like the Pioneer spacecraft before it , Voyager's look at Jupiter's moons revealed them to be active worlds of their own. And Voyager 1 made some intriguing discoveries about these natural satellites. For example, Io's many volcanoes and mottled yellow-brown-orange surface showed that, like planets, moons can have active interiors.

Additionally, Voyager 1 sent back photos of Europa showing a relatively smooth surface broken up by lines, hinting at ice and maybe even an ocean underneath. (Subsequent observations and analyses have revealed that Europa likely harbors a huge subsurface ocean of liquid water, which may even be able to support Earth-like life .)

Voyager 1's closest approach to Jupiter was on March 5, 1979, when it came within 174,000 miles (280,000 km) of the turbulent cloud tops. Then it was time for the probe to aim for Saturn.

Scientists only had to wait about a year, until 1980, to get close-up pictures of Saturn. Like Jupiter, the ringed planet turned out to be full of surprises.

One of Voyager 1's targets was the F ring, a thin structure discovered only the year previously by NASA's Pioneer 11 probe. Voyager's higher-resolution camera spotted two new moons, Prometheus and Pandora, whose orbits keep the icy material in the F ring in a defined orbit. It also discovered Atlas and a new ring, the G ring, and took images of several other Saturn moons.

One puzzle for astronomers was Titan , the second-largest moon in the solar system (after Jupiter's Ganymede). Close-up pictures of Titan showed nothing but orange haze, leading to years of speculation about what it was like underneath. It wouldn't be until the mid-2000s that humanity would find out, thanks to photos snapped from beneath the haze by the European Space Agency's Huygens atmospheric probe .

The Saturn encounter marked the end of Voyager 1's primary mission. The focus then shifted to tracking the 1,590-pound (720 kg) craft as it sped toward interstellar space.

Two decades before it notched that milestone, however, Voyager 1 took one of the most iconic photos in spaceflight history. On Feb. 14, 1990, the probe turned back toward Earth and snapped an image of its home planet from 3.7 billion miles (6 billion km) away. The photo shows Earth as a tiny dot suspended in a ray of sunlight. 

Voyager 1 took dozens of other photos that day, capturing five other planets and the sun in a multi-image "solar system family portrait." But the Pale Blue Dot picture stands out, reminding us that Earth is a small outpost of life in an incomprehensibly vast universe.

Voyager 1 left the heliosphere — the giant bubble of charged particles that the sun blows around itself — in August 2012, popping free into interstellar space. The discovery was made public in a study published in the journal Science the following year.

The results came to light after a powerful solar eruption was recorded by Voyager 1's plasma wave instrument between April 9 and May 22, 2013. The eruption caused electrons near Voyager 1 to vibrate. From the oscillations, researchers discovered that Voyager 1's surroundings had a higher density than what is found just inside the heliosphere.

It seems contradictory that electron density is higher in interstellar space than it is in the sun's neighborhood. But researchers explained that, at the edge of the heliosphere, the electron density is dramatically low compared with locations near Earth. 

Researchers then backtracked through Voyager 1's data and nailed down the official departure date to Aug. 25, 2012. The date was fixed not only by the electron oscillations but also by the spacecraft's measurements of charged solar particles. 

On that fateful day — which was the same day that Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong died — the probe saw a 1,000-fold drop in these particles and a 9% increase in galactic cosmic rays that come from outside the solar system . At that point, Voyager 1 was 11.25 billion miles (18.11 billion km) from the sun, or about 121 astronomical units (AU).

One AU is the average Earth-sun distance — about 93 million miles (150 million km).

You can keep tabs on the Voyager 1's current distance and mission status on this NASA website .

Since flying into interstellar space, Voyager 1 has sent back a variety of valuable information about conditions in this zone of the universe . Its discoveries include showing that cosmic radiation out there is very intense, and demonstrating how charged particles from the sun interact with those emitted by other stars , mission project scientist Ed Stone, of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, told Space.com in September 2017 .

The spacecraft's capabilities continue to astound engineers. In December 2017, for example, NASA announced that Voyager 1 successfully used its backup thrusters to orient itself to "talk" with Earth . The trajectory correction maneuver (TCM) thrusters hadn't been used since November 1980, during Voyager 1's flyby of Saturn. Since then, the spacecraft had primarily used its standard attitude-control thrusters to swing the spacecraft in the right orientation to communicate with Earth. 

As the performance of the attitude-control thrusters began to deteriorate, however, NASA decided to test the TCM thrusters — an idea that could extend Voyager 1's operational life. That test ultimately succeeded. 

"With these thrusters that are still functional after 37 years without use, we will be able to extend the life of the Voyager 1 spacecraft by two to three years," Voyager project manager Suzanne Dodd, of NASA's Jet Propulsion, Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, said in a statement in December 2017 .

Mission team members have taken other measures to extend Voyager 1's life as well. For example, they turned off the spacecraft's cameras shortly after the Pale Blue Dot photo was taken to help conserve Voyager 1's limited power supply. (The cameras wouldn't pick up much in the darkness of deep space anyway.) Over the years, the mission team has turned off five other scientific instruments as well, leaving Voyager 1 with four that are still functioning — the Cosmic Ray Subsystem, the Low-Energy Charged Particles instrument, the Magnetometer and the Plasma Wave Subsystem. (Similar measures have been taken with Voyager 2, which currently has five operational instruments .)

The Voyager spacecraft each celebrated 45 years in space in 2022, a monumental milestone for the twin probes.

"Over the last 45 years, the Voyager missions have been integral in providing this knowledge and have helped change our understanding of the sun and its influence in ways no other spacecraft can," says Nicola Fox, director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington, in a NASA statement .

"Today, as both Voyagers explore interstellar space, they are providing humanity with observations of uncharted territory," said Linda Spilker, Voyager's deputy project scientist at JPL in the same NASA statement.

"This is the first time we've been able to directly study how a star, our Sun, interacts with the particles and magnetic fields outside our heliosphere, helping scientists understand the local neighborhood between the stars, upending some of the theories about this region, and providing key information for future missions." Spilker continues.

Voyager 1's next big encounter will take place in 40,000 years when the probe comes within 1.7 light-years of the star AC +79 3888. (The star is roughly 17.5 light-years from Earth.) However, Voyager 1's falling power supply means it will probably stop collecting scientific data around 2025.

You can learn much more about both Voyagers' design, scientific instruments and mission goals at JPL's Voyager site . NASA has lots of in-depth information about the Pale Blue Dot photo, including Carl Sagan's large role in making it happen, here . And if you're interested in the Golden Record, check out this detailed New Yorker piece by Timothy Ferris, who produced the historic artifact.  Explore the history of Voyager with this interactive timeline courtesy of NASA.  

Bibliography

• Bell, Jim. " The Interstellar Age: Inside the Forty-Year Voyager Mission ," Dutton, 2015.
• Landau, Elizabeth. "The Voyagers in popular culture," Dec. 1, 2017. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/the-voyagers-in-popular-culture
• PBS, "Voyager: A history in photos." https://www.pbs.org/the-farthest/mission/voyager-history-photos/

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Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, " Why Am I Taller ?", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University and a Bachelor of History from Canada's Athabasca University. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science at several institutions since 2015; her experience includes developing and teaching an astronomy course at Canada's Algonquin College (with Indigenous content as well) to more than 1,000 students since 2020. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace

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Follow along with the official Olympic Games Paris 2024 live blog to keep up with all the action from 24 July to 11 August, including full details on every event, live results and medallists, and athlete reactions straight from the competition.

Key Moments

Thank you for joining us on the official Paris 2024 Olympic Games live blog!

It’s been a wonderful 16 days of official action (and an additional two of preliminaries before that), but all good things must come to an end.

And that means for us, the journey has finished for another Olympic Games.

But don’t turn your attention away. The Paralympic Games begin on 28 August in Paris. And the next Olympic Winter Games in Milano-Cortina, Italy, are in only a year and a half’s time.

Don’t forget to keep coming back to Olympics.com for all the best sports action between now and then – we’ve got you covered, even when the Olympic Games aren’t underway.

All that’s left to say is Merci, bonne soirée, au revoir et à bientôt – thank you, good evening, goodbye and see you soon.

It’s been an absolute pleasure bringing you all the action from Paris.

We leave you with a gallery of the best images from tonight's Closing Ceremony.

Closing Ceremony: Finale

We will have incredible memories of the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

And to sing us out is Yseult – singing an interpretation of Frank Sinatra’s classic, My Way , itself originally based on the French song Comme d’habitude .

And with a last blast of fireworks above the Stade de France, the ceremony concludes.

And now, the end is near. And so, we face the final curtain. 🔥 As we bid farewell to the Paris 2024 Olympic flame, Yseult treats us to a spine-tingling rendition of “My way”. #Paris2024 #LA28 #ClosingCeremony pic.twitter.com/SWRYUpVW86 — The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 11, 2024

Closing Ceremony: A special handover

As we get ready for the end of the show, we have a special handover.

French Closing Ceremony Flagbearer Antoine Dupont , gold medallist with the men’s rugby sevens team, has passed the French national flag over to the French Paralympic team.

A timely reminder Paris 2024’s Olympic chapter may be coming to an end, but the Paralympic Games will thrill us beginning with the Opening Ceremony on 28 August.

Closing Ceremony: The Olympic Games are declared closed

Léon Marchand has arrived at the Stade de France with the Olympic Flame from the Jardins des Tuileries.

The audience who have stayed are giving him a warm welcome. "Léon, Léon," the stadium chants as one.

The six athletes who accompanied Tony Estanguet and President Thomas Bach's speeches earlier wait for him on stage, as does the IOC President.

President Bach declares the Games closed, then the six athletes and Marchand blow out the flame in the lantern. 

“In accordance with tradition, I call upon the youth of the world to assemble four years from now in Los Angeles, United States of America, to celebrate with all of us the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad,” President Bach adds.

Closing Ceremony: A party, LA style!

Time for LA’s side of the party – the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Billie Eilish performing for us from a very sunny California!

And, of course,  Snoop Dogg , who's also been in Paris during the Games.  Dr Dre makes an appearance too.

We’re coming to Los Angeles! It's Californication! 😎 The Red Hot Chili Peppers are getting the @LA28 party started! #Paris2024 #LA28 #ClosingCeremony pic.twitter.com/P6PZEU2Yuf — The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 11, 2024

Closing Ceremony: Wait, is that Tom Cruise?

Yes, that is Tom Cruise , rappelling from the Stade de France roof!

He will help transport the Olympic Flag from here in Paris to Los Angeles, via the streets of Paris and the hills of Hollywood, as he takes the flag from Simone Biles.

And that's the famous Hollywood sign, with a few extra Olympic rings! All the while, the  Red Hot Chili Peppers play in the background.

Along the way, we see cameos from friends and Olympians Kate Courtney (mountain bike, 2020), Michael Johnson (track and field athletics, four-time Olympic champion, 1992-2000), and Jagger Eaton (skateboarding, two-time Olympic medallist, 2020-2024).

Courtney takes us downtown to the LA Memorial Coliseum , which was a venue in 1932 and 1984; Johnson through the neighbourhoods of LA; and Eaton finishes the flag relay at the world-famous Venice Beach .

“Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to bring the Olympic flag to Los Angeles.” Tom Cruise: #Paris2024 #LA28 #ClosingCeremony pic.twitter.com/bLsZJTc0xy — The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 11, 2024

Closing Ceremony: H.E.R. performs the U.S. national anthem

The first part of the handover ceremony is the U.S. national anthem, the Star-Spangled Banner . It is performed by Californian artist H.E.R. , who has won an Emmy, Grammy, and Oscar during her career, leaving her just a Tony award from EGOT status.

She most recently performed during the halftime show at Super Bowl LVIII with Usher.

Mayor Bass handed the Olympic Flag to Simone Biles off to the side.

She is H.E.R.! 🤩 🌟 “The Star-Spangled Banner” rings out around the Stade de France, while Simone Biles holds the Olympic flag. Is it starting to feel real, @LA28 ? #Paris2024 #ClosingCeremony pic.twitter.com/an6H3AfKBf — The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 11, 2024

Closing Ceremony: The Olympic Flag is lowered and handed over to LA

The Olympic Anthem, performed by the Maîtrise de Fontainebleau and the Orchestre Divertimento, plays while the Olympic Flag is lowered in the Stade de France.

The Olympic Flag will be passed from Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, to IOC President Thomas Bach, then to Mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass.  Simone Biles is joining them on stage.

Mayors Hidalgo and Bass are the first women mayors to serve Paris and Los Angeles.

Then time for the LA show!

🇫🇷🤝🇺🇸 From Paris to LA. The Olympic flag is officially handed over! 🏳️ #Paris2024 #ClosingCeremony pic.twitter.com/APPVwv17YV — The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 11, 2024

Closing Ceremony: IOC President Thomas Bach gives speech

Addressing the athletes, IOC President  Thomas Bach , 1976 fencing Olympic champion, says: "Despite all the tensions in our world, you came here from all 206 national Olympic committees and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team, to make the City of Light shine brighter than ever before.

"Your performances were amazing. You competed fiercely against each other. Every contest on the edge of perfection. Every performance sparking excitement around the world. You showed us what greatness we humans are capable of.

“The Olympic Games Paris 2024 were a celebration of the athletes and of sport at its best.

“The first Olympic Games delivered completely under our Olympic Agenda reforms: younger, more urban, more inclusive, more sustainable. The first Olympic Games with full gender parity.

“These were sensational Olympic Games from start to finish – or dare I say: Seine -sational Games.”

Thomas Bach, President of International Olympic Committee, makes a speech during the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 11, 2024 in Paris, France

Closing Ceremony: Estanguet tells athletes 'You were magic'

"To you, athletes, what can I say? We knew you would be brilliant, but you were magic," Estanguet says.

"You made us happy, you made us feel alive.

"On behalf of billions of sport lovers across the five continents, thank you very much.

"We will be reunited in LA28, and the Games will keep growing."

Closing Ceremony: Tony Estanguet to deliver speech

President of the Organising Committee for Paris 2024, the three-time canoe Olympic champion Tony Estanguet , will deliver his closing speech next.

He is joined up on stage by six athletes, representing the five continents and the Refugee Olympic Team.

• Boxer Cindy Ngamba (EOR), one bronze medal, representing the Refugee Olympic Team
• Table tennis player Sun Yingsha (CHN), three gold medals, two silver medals, representing Asia
• Marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge (KEN), two gold medals, one silver medal, one bronze medal, representing Africa
• Wrestler Mijaín López (CUB), five gold medals, representing the Americas
• Judoka Teddy Riner (FRA), five gold medals, two bronze medals, representing Europe
• Swimmer Emma McKeon (AUS), six gold medals, three silver medals, five bronze medals, representing Oceania

All of them get big cheers from the crowd.

Closing Ceremony: Time for a party!

Now it’s time for some music! Here’s French band Phœnix to get our party started.

The athletes are up close and personal to this gig.

Now Angèle has joined Phœnix.

Kaminsky ,  Air , and  Vannda have all also made appearances.

And now, for a U.S. touch, here's Ezra Koenig (of Vampire Weekend fame).

🎸 Paris is rising for Phoenix, and floating on Air! Wait, is that an Angèle we see?🎶 The crowd loves it. This is the Stade de Dance! 🪩 #Paris2024 #ClosingCeremony pic.twitter.com/Q8z8MosZfH — The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 11, 2024

Closing Ceremony: The athletes are the show!

The athletes have become part of the show, taking over the stage – which is, in case you didn’t know, set out in a way representing the map of the world: five continents and its oceans.

Closing Ceremony: Fireworks!

Cue the fireworks as the Olympic Rings are finally fully hoisted to their place in the stadium in person.

On the video screens in the stadium, a highlight package of the best moments of the Games is playing.

A general view of the inside of the stadium as a Pyrotechnics Display takes place

Closing Ceremony: The Olympic Rings appear!

Speaking of the Olympic Rings, here they are!

In an impressive choreographic ballet, the Golden Voyager discovers the Olympic rings, which are excavated out of the Stade de France floor and hoisted into the air in the middle of the stadium.

During that time, French pianist and opera singer Benjamin Bernheim was singing the Hymn to Apollo , while Alain Roche played on a piano while being suspended vertically in the air.

Yes, that is a piano suspended in mid-air! 🎹 “The Hymn to Apollo”, like you’ve never seen or heard it before. #Paris2024 #ClosingCeremony pic.twitter.com/fRT5uqKVlN — The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 11, 2024

Closing Ceremony: Nike, the Goddess of Victory

Nike, the Goddess of Victory who appears on every Olympic medal, appears as an entity in the middle of the stage.

In the stands, LED bracelets handed out to spectators produce images of athletes painted on pottery, then doves of peace, and finally, the Olympic Rings.

Spectacular.

Closing Ceremony: Recognising the foundations of the Olympic Games

As is protocol during the Closing Ceremony, the Greek flag will be raised and the national anthem of Greece played in recognition of that nation’s role in the Olympic Games.

There is a twist though: instead of this being part of the usual protocol, Thomas Jolly has entwined it in with the show, taking us in Pierre de Coubertin’s footsteps at the end of the 1800s as he revived the ancient Olympic Games.

Athens 1896 🇬🇷 to Paris 2024 🇫🇷 It’s always worth remembering Pierre de Coubertin’s vision for the modern Olympic Games and the contribution of Greece. #Paris2024 #ClosingCeremony pic.twitter.com/BiHfQNGrQu — The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 11, 2024

Closing Ceremony: Welcome the Golden Voyager

The Stade de France has now been transformed into a giant theatre, dark and mysterious. It’s spine-chilling.

From the sky, a Golden Voyager appears. This character is inspired by references from French history, including the Spirit of the Bastille.

Stade de France ➡️ Théâtre de France 🎭 Time for another show at this iconic venue! #Paris2024 #ClosingCeremony pic.twitter.com/P9EWkfaPx5 — The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 11, 2024

Closing Ceremony: Thank you, Paris 2024 Volunteers!

We now pay tribute to the volunteers who have helped ensure Paris 2024 ran smoothly, from the Eiffel Tower to Tahiti, Marseille to Lille.

Four newly elected IOC Athletes’ Commission members, Allyson Felix (USA) , Kim Bui (GER) , Jess Fox (AUS) , and Marcus Daniell (NZL) , are called upon to hand out gifts of appreciation to volunteer representatives.

Closing Ceremony: Celebrating the Marathon Pour Tous

Last night, 20,024 runners took part in a marathon and another 20,024 in a 10km race on the streets of Paris and Versailles, following the official Olympic marathon course.

This mass-participation Marathon Pour Tous , or Marathon for All, was a first at an Olympic Games.

We’re now being treated to video highlights from the public races last night.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Olympic Games (@olympics)

Athletics: Victory ceremony for the Women’s Marathon

The traditional protocol of the closing ceremony normally features a victory ceremony for the marathon, the last event of the athletics schedule.

Paris 2024’s Closing Ceremony is no different. Except this time, the last event was the women’s marathon rather than the men’s, to highlight the historic Women’s March on Versailles in 1789.

The medallists receiving their awards tonight are:

🥇Sifan Hassan, Netherlands

🥈Tigst Assefa, Ethiopia

🥉Hellen Obiri, Kenya

The Dutch athletes are right up to the front, as close as they can get, to the podium.

Sifan Hassan acknowledges the crowd during the women's marathon victory ceremony

Closing Ceremony: The athletes continue to enter the stadium

As the final athletes start to enter the stadium, the crowd as one starts to sing the riff to  Seven Nation Army to cheer on the athletes.

The stadium announcer has just announced karaoke for the stadium:  Les Champs-Elysées by Joe Dassin,  Freed From Desire by Gala, and  We Are the Champions by Queen are among the songs.

Enter the delegations – all 205 of them. 🤩 We watch the athletes on their final journey together as the Class of Paris 2024. #Paris2024 #ClosingCeremony pic.twitter.com/QwnBb9D8oD — The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 11, 2024

Closing Ceremony: The athletes are having a party

As the athletes continue to enter the stadium bowl of the Stade de France, it's a full on party. They're dancing and taking selfies to remember this moment.

From the Opening Ceremony to the Closing Ceremony, we've come full circle! Let’s welcome in the flagbearers! 👋 #Paris2024 #ClosingCeremony pic.twitter.com/4Uf6F1MuYc — The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 11, 2024

Closing Ceremony: Here come the Flagbearers and athletes!

The flags of all competing National Olympic Committees are now entering the Stade de France, followed by the athletes.

As is traditional, the athletes are entering together as one during the Closing Ceremony, rather than in teams.

Here is a list of all Flagbearers for tonight. 👇

The flagbearers for the Paris 2024 Closing Ceremony

There's a massive roar for  Antoine Dupont and  Pauline Ferrand-Prévot , the French duo carrying the hosts' flag.

Closing Ceremony: The French flag enters the stadium

The dignitaries, including IOC President Thomas Bach and President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron , have arrived and are introduced to the crowd.

A flag party carries the French flag into the stadium, where the Orchestre Divertimento and Maîtrise de Fontainebleau will perform Victor le Masne’s rearrangement of the French national anthem, La Marseillaise .

La Marseillaise. At the Stade de France. What an emotional moment! 🥹 Paris, it's been a pleasure. 💙🤍❤️ #Paris2024 #ClosingCeremony pic.twitter.com/OrHzYQDlGP — The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 11, 2024