The Paris Olympics concluded the 2024 Games out with a show-stopping closing ceremony, led by Hollywood star and stunt fanatic Tom Cruise as French representatives handed off the Olympics flag to reps of the Summer Games’ 2028 home: Los Angeles. In true Hollywood fashion, the event became a star-studded affair, with appearances from Cruise, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg and more.
Sunday’s closing ceremony saw Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo pass the Olympic flag to L.A. Mayor Karen Bass ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics coming Stateside for the first time since the Atlanta Games in 1996. H.E.R performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” following the flag pass.
“Mission: Impossible” star Cruise, who had been rumored to make a stunt-filled appearance, took the closing ceremony crowd by surprise as he rappeled from the top of the stadium down, a la Ethan Hunt as H.E.R. riffed on electric guitar. Cruise greeted fans — and dodged a kiss from the Olympian-filled crowd — before being greeted by Olympian Simone Biles, who handed him the flag.
Cruise set the flag in the back of a motorcycle and drove away, at which point it switched to what appeared to be a pretaped video with Cruise riding the bike through Paris, flag waving behind him as he made several deft moves before he drove on to the back of a cargo plane and said into a walkie talkie, “I’m on my way.”
A video of the actor skydiving over Los Angeles set to music by the Chili Peppers followed. The camera followed Cruise as he passed the flag off to the cycler Kate Courtney. As the camera panned out, it became clear that he had added the Olympic rings to the famous Hollywood sign.
Courtney then rode her bike to L.A. Memorial Coliseum, where the flag was passed off again to Michael Johnson. The flag then made its way to Venice Beach, where skateboarder Jagger Eaton planted it onstage as the Chili Peppers played “Can’t Stop.” Locals in the area have said that this portion was filmed Saturday.
Following the Chili Peppers, the musical artists paying tribute to the city hosting the next Summer Games included Billie Eilish and her brother FINNEAS, with Snoop Dogg — 2024 Olympics darling — closing out the run of performers alongside Dr. Dre. Back in France, more closing remarks were given ahead of a final performance by French singer Yseult belting out the Frank Sinatra classic “My Way.” Prolific French bands Phoenix and Air took the Parisian stage earlier as they closed out the Paris Games.
Plenty of Hollywood stars had been on display during the Paris Olympics’ Opening Ceremony, including Lady Gaga, who kicked off the event with a rendition of Zizi Jeanmaire’s “Mon Truc En Plumes.” Céline Dion, who was initially rumored to perform alongside Lady Gaga in a duet, closed the Opening Ceremony in her first public performance since she announced her stiff-person syndrome diagnosis in 2022.
The Opening Ceremony, which aired live from the Seine in Paris, scored a viewership of 28.6 million viewers across NBC and Peacock — up 60% from the 17.9 million viewers tuning in for the last Summer Olympics opening ceremony during the Tokyo Games in 2021.
Cruise is among the dozens of American celebrities who have been seen rooting for Team USA throughout the 2024 Games. Other Hollywood figures spotted at this year’s Olympics have included Zendaya, Nicole Kidman, Jessica Chastain, Shaun White, Nina Dobrev, Nick Jonas, Elizabeth Banks, Judd Apatow, Leslie Mann, Alan Cumming, Pharrell, Charlize Theron, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, among others.
