By Ayomide Otitoju
The 2024 Paris Olympics drew to a dramatic close tonight with a grand ceremony at the Stade de France. The event kicked off at 9 p.m. local time (19:00 GMT) with Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise, famed for his role in the Mission: Impossible series, making a thrilling entrance by descending from the stadium roof.
Cruise navigated through a sea of selfie-taking athletes before taking center stage to collect the Olympic flag. In a cinematic twist, he left the stadium on a motorcycle with the flag billowing behind him, speeding through the streets of Paris before boarding a plane.
In an audacious transition, the ceremony cut to Los Angeles, where Cruise leaped from the plane and parachuted to the iconic Hollywood sign. There, he pinned the Olympic Rings to the sign, marking the official handover to the next host city, Los Angeles, for the 2028 Games.
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was the next destination for the flag, where legendary USA sprinter Michael Johnson collected it. As the American national anthem echoed through the Stade de France, the Olympic flag was lowered, and the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, received it from International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach. Gymnastics star Simone Biles joined the dignitaries on stage.
In his address, Bach lauded the athletes for their unity and spirit, saying, “You showed us what greatness human beings are capable of. You lived in peace, even as some countries are divided by war. The Olympics cannot create peace, but it can inspire a culture of peace.”
Tony Estanguet, President of Paris 2024, reflected on the Games’ success, noting that “France rediscovered itself. From one day to the next, the whole of France became Olympic.”
The ceremony featured a visual and acrobatic spectacle, with performers assembling giant Olympic rings and a performance of the ancient Greek “Hymn to Apollo.” The stage, representing a map of the world, became a journey through time, symbolizing both the past and the future.
The ceremony also celebrated the volunteers from 150 nations who contributed to the success of the Games. Earlier in the day, Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands clinched gold in the women’s marathon, setting an Olympic record of 2 hours, 22 minutes, and 55 seconds.
As the evening continued, the traditional athletes’ parade and flag handover to Los Angeles took place. The all-star lineup for the ceremony included performances by Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
The closing ceremony also included a tribute to the Eiffel Tower, despite an earlier security incident involving a man climbing the monument. French police quickly intervened, ensuring the event proceeded without disruption.
As the Paris 2024 Olympics came to a close, the ceremony was a fitting finale to a Games that united the world in a celebration of sport and peace. The flame has now been passed to Los Angeles, where the world will gather again in 2028.
