Algerian boxer Imane Khelif apparently dropped as flagbearer

Controversial Algerian boxer Imane Khelif was apparently switched out at the last moment from carrying her nation’s flag at Sunday night’s Olympics closing ceremony.

It had been reported earlier that Khelif, who won gold in women’s boxing amid a much-publicised gender row, had been selected to carry the flag of Algeria at the glittering final ceremony at the Stade de France in Paris.

However the honour went to gold medal gymnast Kaylia Nemour and bronze-winning track star Djamel Sedjati instead, as Khelif still made an appearance as part of the wider team.

Khelif grinned widely as she held up her gold medal to the cameras. 

The exact reason for the change at the eleventh hour has not been made clear, however the Algerian Olympic Committee dismissed any speculation over the decision.

The committee simply claimed it was ‘normal’ for the country to stop Khelif from being the country’s flag bearer for the Closing Ceremony at the last minute.

A spokesman said: ‘It is very normal that Imane Khelif does not carry the flag of Algeria even though we announced that she would.

‘[Gold medal gymnast] Kaylia Nemour is a young women and it is totally right that she should take this role. This is nothing unusual.’

Khelif, alongside Taiwan‘s Lin Yu-ting, has been the intense focus of a gender dispute over the past two weeks, which has seen their eligibility to compete in the women’s category of the sport questioned. 

The row began after Khelif forced her first opponent, Italian Angela Carini, to quit in the opening stages of their contest. 

Khelif stormed to light-welterweight gold on Friday. 

Last year, the Algerian had been banned from progressing through last year’s World Championships, by the IBA, the sport’s international governing body. 

On Friday, Olympics chief Thomas Bach defended the right of both to box in Paris, but added that he would be the first to adopt an agreed ‘scientifically solid system’.’

‘This system is working and so therefore our decision is clear,’ he said. ‘Women should be allowed to take part in women’s competitions and the two are women. For now, victory is Khelif’s.’

Over at Team GB, gold medal superstars Alex Yee and Bryony Page waved the flag for Britain as the Paris Olympics closing ceremony got underway. 

It kicked off with a rendition of Under The Paris Sky performed by French singer Zaho de Sagazan and an accompanying choir.

The group performed the song in the Tuileries Garden in Paris before French four-time gold medallist swimmer Leon Marchand appeared to carrying a small flame to the Stade de France.

As the orchestra gave a raising addition of ‘La Marseillaise’ French national anthem before flag bearers of each of the competing nations walked into the arena, as the crowd cheered.

Gold medallists Alex Yee and Bryony Page walked out as Great Britain’s flagbearers.

The smiling pair were seen in floral shirts and blue shorts, as Yee almost tripped while staring in awe around the stadium. 

Hollywood action man Tom Cruise is expected to bring a dramatic finale to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which has been hailed a roaring success despite a rain-drench and chaotic start.

The Mission Impossible star is set to abseil into the Stade de France stadium to pick up the five-ring Olympic flag and transfer it to Los Angeles, the host of the 2028 Games.

The switch across the Atlantic will feature live performances by pop superstar Billie Eilish, LA rockers Red Hot Chili Peppers and Snoop Dogg.

The regular appearance of the legendary rapper has been hailed by Olympic chiefs for helping introduce the Games to a record audience of half the world’s population.

As the Princess of Wales took to social media to praise Team GB‘s amazing performance alongside a rugged-looking Prince William. 

The athletes were joined by the crowd of many thousands to sing along as the song ‘Champs Elysee’ was played.

And then the stadium rocked to the dance anthem ‘Free From Desire’.

The Royal couple posted on Instagram tonight: ‘Well done @TeamGB, what an incredible journey!

‘Every athlete showed immense dedication, heart and passion. You made us all so proud!

‘Here’s to celebrating every triumph at @Paris2024 and looking forward to more from the paralympics later in the summer.’

French indie band Phoenix and electronic duo Air are also set to perform but happy house heroes Daft Punk will not get the party going, despite widespread calls across France for them to appear in the show.

Cruise, 62, is one of many US personalities who have jetted into the French capital to watch the events.

Rapper Snoop Dogg has been an almost permanent feature throughout the Games, Hollywood actors Eva Mendes, Ryan Gosling, Sharon Stone and Nicole Kidman have been spotted watching events.

Rock legend Mick Jagger also is in town and has been watching TeamGB athletes battle it out around the track with his partner Melanie Hamrick and their eight-year-old son Deveraux.

Gold medal winners Alex Yee, who won the triathlon, and trampolinist Bryony Page were chosen to be Team GB’s flag-bearers to lead the athletes’ closing parade inside the stadium in the French capital.

The King has also sent a message congratulating competitors and describing them as ‘an inspiration’. 

It read: ‘My wife joins me in sending our warmest congratulations to the competitors and their support teams from Team GB and across the whole Commonwealth, for their many outstanding successes at the Olympic Games in Paris.

‘Your achievements, across so many disciplines, were forged from that invaluable combination of raw talent, true grit and hard toil over many years, burnished these past weeks by sportsmanship and team spirit in the finest tradition of the Games.

‘To those who missed out on the greatest prizes, you have most certainly not fallen short in the pride that you, too, have generated for your nations.

‘As we thank France for hosting such a wonderful tournament and look to the Paralympics ahead, I can only say that you have all been an inspiration.’

The honour was bestowed upon the pair after being nominated by a British Olympic Association council. 

They will carry the flag into the Stade de France on Sunday evening.

Yee cemented himself as the most successful Olympic triathlete of all time when he won two medals in Paris.

The 26-year-old took home the gold medal in the men’s individual triathlon, surpassing New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde on the final stretch to win.

While Page won Britain’s first ever medal in gymnastics.  

The two-and-a-half hour ceremony will feature performances by more than 100 dancers and circus artists.

As well as the unique artistic section, the closing ceremony will also include more traditional elements, including: the parade of athletes, the thanking of the 45,000 volunteers and the medal ceremony for the women’s marathon.

Even before the ceremony began the thousands of fans who had packed into the sprawling Stade de France stadium despite the day’s sweltering 33 Celsius heat roared with delight.

They performed a ‘Mexican Wave’ around the arena that had hosted the Games’ athletics events as they waited for the show to commence.

An orchestra started the show as film of the opening ceremony were replayed to the audience and to TV audiences across the world.

French swimming sensation Leon Marchand, who won five medals in the pool, including four golds, is expected to bring the house down with applause.

The Prime Minister has congratulated Team GB’s athletes and praised them for inspiring a new generation of athletes as the Paris Olympics come to an end.

Sir Keir Starmer posted on X, formerly Twitter: ‘To all our incredible @TeamGB athletes and support staff, well done and congratulations.

‘You’re bringing home more than just medals. You’ve inspired a new generation of athletes while entertaining a nation. Thank you.’

Artistic director Thomas Jolly said the show was called ‘Records’, and it promises to take the audience on a science-fiction dream-like immersive journey through time.

That will begin from the origins of the Olympic Games and will go to a dystopian future when the Olympics have disappeared and must be reinvented.

The extinguishing of the Olympic flame will be brought from Tuileries, where the cauldron has been on display and visited by tens of thousands of fans.

The proclamation of the end of the Olympic Games, will be made by the President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach.

And the handover of the Olympic flag will be made by Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo to Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles.

Whatever happens tonight Paris 2024 organisers will be anxious to avoid a repeat of the controversy sparked by the opening ceremony, which featured drag queens in a sequence that some Christians and conservatives thought mocked the Biblical story of the Last Supper.

However, there is no fear that the torrential rainstorm that marred many of the performances during the elaborate opening ceremony will return tonight.

And further acts of sabotage that wreck France’s railway network – leaving tens of thousands stranded – are not expected, following a massive security clampdown across the capital.

The Paris 2024 Paralympics will run between Wednesday 28 August and Sun 8 September with the opening ceremony held at the Place de la Concorde in the centre of the French capital. 

The Los Angeles Olympics opening ceremony will take place on 14 July 2028, with the closing ceremony just over two weeks later, on 30 July. It will be the third time that LA hosts the world’s premier sporting event.

The US megacity – which is the home of some 7.8 automobiles – has pledged to make the 2028 Olympic Games virtually car-free.

Among a host of new sports to feature will be T20 cricket, lacrosse, baseball, squash and flag football – aka non-contact gridiron.

Surfing, skateboarding and sport climbing – big hits at the French Games – will survive.

But breakdancing – which debuted at Paris 2024 and was widely mocked – will not feature.

This comes as Paris was thrown into chaos this afternoon when a topless prankster forced the Eiffel Tower to be evacuated just hours before the city’s showpiece Olympics closing ceremony.

The blonde, shirtless man was filmed scaling the 1,000ft-tall landmark above the first viewing deck and the Olympic rings that adorn the second section of the monument at around 2.45pm local time (1.45pm BST).

Flustered visitors told MailOnline today how they were quickly ushered down the tower’s stairwell by emergency crews as they detailed chaotic scenes.

Footage emerged of a topless man being led away in handcuffs by police, before turning to the person filming and saying, in what appears to be a British accent, ‘it’s bloody hot, innit?’. 

Police escorted visitors away from the area at around 3pm and the entry beneath the tower was closed.

Some visitors were briefly locked on the second floor but were allowed to exit around 30 minutes later.

On condition of anonymity because of an ongoing investigation into the incident, a Paris police official told The Associated Press: ‘An individual started climbing the Eiffel Tower at 2.45pm, police intervened and the person was detained.’