Tom Cruise jumps off Paris stadium roof as part of Olympic Games ceremonial handoff to Los Angeles for 2028
The 2024 Paris Olympic Games are officially closed and Los Angeles is on deck for the next summer event in 2028. The Closing Ceremony took place at the Stade de France on Sunday and was filled with exciting performances, wild stunts and surprise guests.
One of the most surprising and jaw dropping moments of the event was when actor Tom Cruise descended from the roof, into the crowd and held up the Olympic flag. As H.E.R. played guitar, standing beside Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Olympic gymnast Simone Biles passed the Olympic flag to Cruise to symbolize the Olympic handoff to the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
Cruise took his motorcycle, with the Olympic flag on the back, on a military cargo plane, in a scene that looked like it could’ve been right out of the “Mission: Impossible” film franchise. After that, he was shown skydiving into L.A., transforming the OO of the Hollywood sign into the bottom of the Olympic rings logo. The montage took us to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which was one site of the Games when the city served as host in 1984 and 1932.
American skateboarder Jagger Eaton skated with the Olympic flag, taking it to one of Southern California’s iconic beaches where the Red Hot Chili Peppers were performing “Can’t Stop.”
Following the Red Hot Chili Peppers performance, Billie Eilish took an adjacent stage to perform. We all know the Olympics’ unofficial ambassador Snoop Dogg wouldn’t miss an opportunity to get in front of a crowd, and he did performing his classic hit “Drop It Like It’s Hot.”
In a full Olympic ring outfit, he was later joined by Dr. Dre and the two California natives performed “The Next Episode.” The event was complete with color cannons firing off the Olympic colors amid and picture-perfect California beach scene.
Meanwhile, back in Paris, Alain Roche played the Hymn to Apollo on a piano suspended in the air, with opera singer Benjamin Bernheim.
The Closing Ceremony including many performances, including French musicians Thomas Mars, Angèle, Cambodian rapper, Vannda, French duo Air and French band Phoenix.
The torch, carried by star French swimmer Leon Marchand, was extinguished and the 2024 Olympic Games were officially declared closed.
Yseult, a French R&B singer, performed “Comme d’habitude,” which was later adapted to “My Way” by Frank Sinatra.
French rugby star and flag bearer Antoine Dupont passed a French flag to Paralympic track and field runner Nantenin Keita, to symbolize Paris’ switch to host the Paralympics Games, from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8.
The event concluded with a fireworks display over the stadium.
As far as the Games that just concluded, the United States won 126 medals than any other nation, but shared the lead in gold medals with China at 40 each.
