I have a confession, this is the first year I have been fully devoted to the , but you don't have to be an expert to know it felt like something was missing during the . I excitedly tuned in to watch on Sunday, Aug. 11 to see how such a fun month would come to a close.
Instead, I was left feeling bored, confused, and not as inspired or emotional as I expected to be. The ceremony was hosted at the Stade de France and the show titled Records was directed by , who also oversaw the on the Seine in July. More than 70,000 spectators were expected to be inside the stadium, while millions of fans tuned in worldwide.
Yet, there were too few cultural celebrations or acknowledgments of the champions from around the world who proudly represented their respective nations. The winners of this year's games deserved a much bigger spotlight than what they received, and the athletes walking in felt disorganized and not at all commemorated the hard work and resilience they displayed over the last few weeks. I was happy to see countries like the United States and France receive so much screen time, but the Olympians from other countries like my native Ecuador were nowhere to be seen.
There was also a confusing and completely disorganized and awkward " " for the athletes, which was simply songs being played in the stadium as they sang along as if they were at a concert. The ceremony did have some cultural significance to both France as well as odes to the game's history. At the Closing Ceremony, .