Hollywood famous person Tom Cruise has made a dramatic look at Sunday night time’s Paris 2024 closing ceremony, abseiling off the Stade de France roof.
Spectators shrieked in delight because the Mission: Inconceivable star, wearing leather-based jacket and gloves, lowered himself into the stadium whereas his compatriot H.E.R. carried out on guitar.
To mark the handover to Los Angeles, which is able to host the Olympics in 2028, Cruise was seen in a pre-recorded movie travelling by Paris and onto the US.
There he journeyed to the legendary Hollywood signal and unfurled the Olympic colors. The ceremony in Paris marked a proper “au revoir” from this yr’s host metropolis.
Thomas Bach, president of the Worldwide Olympic Committee, mentioned the Paris Video games had been “sensational”.
In his closing speech, he praised athletes for his or her “merely wonderful” performances, saying they confirmed “what greatness we people are able to”.
He continued: “Throughout all this time, you lived peacefully collectively beneath one roof within the Olympic Village. You embraced one another. You revered one another, even when your nations are divided by battle and battle. You created a tradition of peace.
“This impressed all of us and billions of individuals across the globe. Thanks for making us dream. Thanks for making us consider in a greater world for everybody.”
Cruise’s feat through the closing ceremony was carried out as musician H.E.R. jammed on an electrical guitar – having moments earlier than delivered a rocky rendition of the US nationwide anthem.
He proceeded to take the Olympic flag from one of many stars of Paris – American gymnast Simone Biles – earlier than the thrilled viewers watched him zip away on a bike.
The pre-recorded clip displaying his journey to LA was soundtracked by California natives Purple Sizzling Chili Peppers.
The funk-rock hitmakers then delivered a stay efficiency of their traditional observe Cannot Cease on a palm-fringed seashore in Los Angeles. Different acts included Billie Eilish and Snoop Dogg, who carried out with Dr Dre.
Snoop – who’s from LA himself – was a daily fixture on the Video games, which culminated with the US topping the medals desk after a dramatic win in Sunday’s closing occasion, the ladies’s basketball closing.
Cruise, additionally identified for High Gun, is famend for performing his personal stunts.
During the last decade or so, these have included scaling Dubai’s Burj Khalifa and dangling on the surface of a airplane because it took off, each for the Mission: Inconceivable collection.
Creative director Thomas Jolly complemented Cruise’s feat with one other cinematic-feeling section. A hushed, darkened stadium watched as a troupe of dancers rolled 5 big rings throughout a stage, finally assembling the Olympic emblem.
The gloomy sci-fi aesthetic was lastly punctured by an up-tempo efficiency from French band Phoenix, who tore into two hits. They have been surrounded by athletes who climbed up on stage, to the consternation of the stadium announcer.
Cruise’s function was maybe Paris’s worst-kept secret. Rumours had been within the press for days – even earlier than he was photographed within the stadium itself on Sunday night.
The 62-year-old was noticed a number of occasions in Paris through the Video games fortnight, cheering on the US staff within the swimming relay and watching multi-medal-winning American gymnast Simone Biles in motion.
“It is superior,” he advised Reuters information company on the time. “Nice tales, nice athletes. It is unbelievable what they do.”
Creative director Jolly was additionally chargeable for the Olympics’ formidable curtain-raiser final month. This featured a parade of boats alongside the River Seine and a comeback efficiency from singer Céline Dion.