BBC viewers were left bemused on Sunday by the broadcaster’s decision to draft in First Dates maître d’ Fred Sirieix as a commentator for the Paris Olympics closing ceremony.
The Olympics drew to a close after 329 events across 32 sports and BBC coverage of the Paris event was headed by Hazel Irvine, Andrew Cotter, Laura Kenny, and Chris Hoy.
Clare Balding was also featured in the coverage, taking viewers on a journey back through the last 16 days of competition.
Television star Fred, 52, shot to fame in 2013 on the Channel 4 dating show and has since appeared on cooking programmes with Gordon Ramsay and Gino D’Acampo and I’m A Celebrity.
His presence had been welcomed on these programmes, but Olympics fans were left less than impressed on Sunday when the French favourite joined the pundit panel of Hazel, Andrew, and Claire.
BBC viewers were left bemused on Sunday by the broadcaster’s decision to draft in First Dates maître d’ Fred Sirieix as a commentator for the Paris Olympics closing ceremony
The Olympics drew to a close after 329 events across 32 sports and BBC coverage of the event was headed by Hazel Irvine, Andrew Cotter, Laura Kenny, and Chris Hoy (pictured: Tom Cruise)
Olympics fans were left less than impressed when the French favourite joined the pundit panel. Pictured: Hazel (second from right), Andrew (right), and Clare (left)
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, viewers did not mince their words as they questioned the BBC’s decision-making.
‘Why is Fred Sirieix there??’;
They wrote: ‘Fred Sirieix won Bronze in the Maitre D’ event. Dropped a tray of drinks 10 metres from the finishing line’;
‘Laura Kenny and Chris Hoy listening to Fred Sirieix talk about what it takes to win at the Olympics’;
Olympic cyclists Laura and Chris have won four and six gold medals respectively.
Viewers went on: ‘Is Fred Sirieix the pub receptionist honestly the best French bloke they can find for this’;
‘May I know what qualifies Fred Sirieix to be a commentator at the Olympics besides his *daughter* competing (not him!) and, er, being French. Very poor @BBCSport’;
Fred’s daughter Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix competes for Team GB in the diving.
Television star Fred shot to fame in 2013 on the Channel 4 dating show and has since appeared on cooking programmes with Gordon Ramsay and Gino D’Acampo and I’m A Celebrity
His presence had been welcomed on these programmes, but Olympics fans were left fuming on Sunday
Viewers continued: ‘BBC replacing all the pundits except Fred Sirieix’;
‘Good to see the BBC have wheeled out the big guns for the closing ceremony. People who have competed at the Olympics and excelled and can talk with great authority on the subject. Laura Kenny ( 5 Olympic medals). Sir Chris Hoy ( 7 Olympic medals ) and Fred Sirieix. [thumbs up emoji]’;
‘The BBC Olympic closing ceremony coverage is being hosted partly by Fred Sirieix. His particular field of expertise will come in handy later when the other presenters need to know where to sit when they are having dinner.’
One viewer even made a poll which simply asked: ‘Why is Fred Sirieix commentating on the BBC’s Closing Ceremony coverage?’
The answer options were: To maitre d’ Clare B. Because e’s French. Je ne sais pas. (shrug).
However, not all were disappointed to see Fred, and one sweet fan wrote: ‘What a thoroughly nice chap Fred Sirieix is. I know he’s not a sports commentator, but that segment about Paris was lovely. I love Paris and felt very emotional.’
The closing ceremony saw American action actor and stuntman Tom Cruise, 62, perform and eye-watering stunt and Billie Eilish, 22, sing.
Tom performed the daring Mission Impossible-style stunt in the Stade de France to mark the Olympic baton being passed from France to LA for the 2028 games.
Meanwhile, Billie was joined on the LA stage by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.
Their performances, watched by millions, were live-streamed straight into the French stadium.
All of Sunday’s acts, including Snoop Dogg who has been a familiar face at the Games, have been chosen for their connections to the famous West Coast city.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, viewers did not mince their words as they questioned the BBC’s decision-making, with one fan even making a poll
However, not all were disappointed to see Fred, and one sweet fan wrote their appreciation
The closing ceremony saw American action actor and stuntman Tom Cruise, 62, perform and eye-watering stunt and Billie Eilish (pictured), 22, sing
They actor, 62, is expected to perform a daring Mission Impossible-style stunt in the Stade de France to mark the Olympic baton being passed from France to LA for the 2028 games
The rapper, 52, has been a stand-out star at the Olympics this year and has been spotted at various events.
He introduced the controversial breakdancing competition this year and was also spotted dressing up and enjoying the dressage and basketball.
To bridge the gap between the games, held in France this year, and the next host country, all the performers have deep connection to LA.
Global pop star Billie, 22, was born in LA and has previously revealed how it’s shaped her and her music, describing her album Happier Than Ever as a ‘love letter’ to the city.
Snoop Dogg originally hails from Long Beach and is one of the West Coast’s most famous and prolific rappers and producers while the Red Hot Chilli Peppers sprung out of LA in the 1980s.
The location of the LA performances on Sunday have not been revealed following a security clampdown after three Taylor Swift concerts were cancelled in Austria due to a bomb plot.
Hollywood action man 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 Rain Man star will be joined by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Billie Eilish – all the acts have been chosen for their connections to the famous West Coast city
Snoop Dogg, 52, who has been a familiar face at this year’s Games will also be performing due to his LA connection having been born and raised in Long Beach
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 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 Sir 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 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.
French swimming sensation Leon Marchand, who won five medals in the pool, including four golds, is expected to bring the house down with applause.
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 rapper has been a stand-out star at the Olympics this year and introduced the controversial break dancing competition as well as watching the dressage
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, 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 Paralympic opening ceremony will be on 15 August, and the closing event will be on 27 August.
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.
Earlier this afternoon the Eiffel Tower was evacuated after a man was seen climbing the iconic Paris landmark hours before the closing ceremony was due to start.
The shirtless man was seen scaling the 1,083 foot (330m) and he was spotted just above the Olympic rings adorning the second section of the monument, just above the first viewing deck.
More than 30,000 police officers have been deployed around Paris and beyond to watch over the last Olympic events and Sunday’s closing ceremony.
This comes as security authorities are on high alert after Austrian authorities managed to avoid a terrorist attack planned during the pop star’s series of shows in Vienna for her Eras Tour.
Measures have also been put in place in LA to counter potential threats from the air, land and sea as the Californian city gets ready to have the eyes of the world on them.
Organisers will be hoping the closing ceremony goes more smoothly than the opening one which was widely critcised by Christians for mocking their faith.
The showpiece drew some criticism for a banquet scene where an actor playing Greek god Dionysus took centre stage on a table with drag queens, which was interpreted to resemble Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper painting.
Some religious groups condemned the ceremony, including the Catholic Church in France who said it included ‘scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity’.
