Thomas Mars of Phoenix Worried About Athletes Swarming Stage at Closing Ceremony

Phoenix frontman Thomas Mars, who performed at Sunday’s concert at the Stade de France for the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics, expressed concerns for the athletes’ safety during the show.

French indie rock band Phoenix delivered a rousing rendition of their hit “Lisztomania,” surrounded by hundreds of athletes.

While Mars is no stranger to live performances, the Olympics’ closing ceremony was a unique experience. He explained on French radio France Inter on Monday morning that the overjoyed crowd of athletes created a different dynamic.

“We were told that generally at closing ceremonies, athletes are very happy as the pressure from the Olympics lifts, so they let loose,” said Mars. “But they got up on screens, they broke the screens,” he noted. “In fact, we were afraid for them because we had been told during the last two weeks of rehearsal, ‘Above all, don’t get on the screens, it will fall out!’ And there, at the Stade de France, we saw 400 people on a screen,” he added with laughter.

“So we continued playing and tried not to focus on what was happening,” Mars continued. At some point during the performance, athletes joined them on stage in what appeared to be a planned scene. However, Mars clarified it wasn’t rehearsed. “We’re a little used to people who invade the stage. As Branco (Laurent Brancowitz, the group’s guitarist) says, ‘It’s a thing that happens.’ But there have been bad situations in the past with people falling through the stage. Here, everything went well, but we just had sweaty hands!” he said.

Brancowitz also spoke to France Inter, mentioning that Phoenix was given “carte blanche” for their live show. “The only thing we were asked was to ‘make the concert for the athletes, because they’re the heroes.’ But we didn’t imagine they would be a meter away,” he stated, adding that it was a “magnificent experience.”

Phoenix was joined on stage by artists including Air and DJ Kavinsky, part of the French Touch music wave that emerged in the mid-1990s, blending electro, dance, jazz, and rock beats.

Kavinsky and Belgian singer Angèle performed “Nightcall,” the breakout song from Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Drive,” while Air and Phoenix played “Playground Love,” which was featured in “The Virgin Suicides,” directed by Mars’ wife, Sofia Coppola.

The ceremony, orchestrated by artistic director Thomas Jolly, culminated with the handover to the LA2028 Games. The segment, produced by the L.A. Games organizers, featured Grammy-award winning H.E.R. singing the U.S. National Anthem with enthusiasm, and Tom Cruise jumping off the stadium roof to hand the Olympic flag to Team USA champion Simone Biles and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass. The performances of Billie Eilish, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Snoop Dog, meanwhile, were all pre-taped in Long Beach.