The Olympic closing ceremony picked up steam Sunday when Tom Cruise rappelled from the sky to midfield at the Stade de France, took the Olympic flag onto a plane and headed to Los Angeles to deliver it to the next host city.
We’ve heard stories of this epic handover before, and the spectacle didn’t disappoint. After running down the stadium to the tune of the “Mission Impossible” song, Cruise, dressed in his Ethan Hunt costume, ran through the crowd of athletes gathered on the field, shaking hands and stopping to appear in selfies along the way. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass passed the flag to Simone Biles, who held it while HER performed the U.S. national anthem, then handed it to Cruise.
Cruise then jumped on a motorcycle with the flag mounted on the back of the seat and sped away.
IT’S A BIRD. IT’S A PLANE. IT’S TOM CRUISE! 🤯#ParisOlympicGames | #Closing ceremony pic.twitter.com/5v4j8pOwBF
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 11, 2024
The ceremony was followed by a pre-recorded video in which Cruise flew past the Eiffel Tower, climbed a ramp into a plane, and then parachuted into the Hollywood Sign to the music of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, where he used power tools to alter the O in “wood” in the Olympic ring insignia. The athletes then took over, landing on a Los Angeles beach with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, followed by performances by Billie Eilish, followed by Snoop Dogg, who was joined by Dr. Dre. All of the American artists were from California.
Although this initiative was previously disclosed as an unprecedented event for the Games, it was entirely in keeping with the opening spectacle of the Olympic Games.
The ceremony began with a performance of the Golden Warrior – a character created especially for these Olympics, also descending from the sky – meeting the headless, winged goddess of Victory, inspired by the famous sculpture in the Louvre. This led to an elaborate ballet depicting the “rediscovery” of the Olympic rings by archaeologists in a dystopian future, as they were dug up from the stadium floor and hoisted into the sky.
Meanwhile, French tenor Benjamin Bernheim sang “Hymn to Apollo” while Swiss pianist and composer Alain Roche accompanied him while suspended vertically, essentially performing on his back in the air in a gravity-defying performance.
Back in Paris after Cruise’s visit, French swimmer and multiple gold medalist Leon Merchand carried the Olympic flame, which he had walked with from the Tuileries Gardens in Paris. The ceremony closed with French singer Yseult performing “My Way,” a poignant cultural bridge between its origins as the French song “Comme d’habitude” and its English adaptation by Paul Anka for Frank Sinatra.
With News Wire Services
