Paris bids triumphant 'au revoir' to Olympics

Paris: Paris prepared to bid a triumphant au revoir to the Olympics on Sunday as the curtain came down on its widely praised staging of the global s...

Paris: Paris prepared to bid a triumphant "au revoir" to the Olympics on Sunday as the curtain came down on its widely praised staging of the global sporting spectacular.

A star-studded closing ceremony got under way in front of around 71,500 spectators at the Stade de France to crown an event that has been broadly acclaimed as one of the greatest editions of the Olympics ever held.

Around 270 artists and performers were scheduled to perform in the packed arena with an estimated 9,000 athletes expected to march into the venue.

The opening segment of the ceremony festivities began with France's swimming hero Leon Marchand -- winner of four gold medals at these Games -- gathering the Olympic flame from the cauldron in the centre of Paris to begin its journey to the Stade de France.