The 2024 Olympics Closing Ceremony Already Has Us Looking Forward to 2028
The 2024 Olympics Closing Ceremony bid adieu to the Paris Summer Games in epic fashion with quite the handoff to the 2028 host city, Los Angeles.
The handoff officially started with the Olympic flag being passed to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who then passed it to GOAT gymnast Simone Biles.
All due respect to Mayor Bass and Biles, if we’re being really honest, it actually started with 62-year-old (!) Tom Cruise jumping from the top of Stade de France. Yeah, he had a harness, but one of the biggest movie stars in the world (and we assume a rather large safety crew) pulled off this over-the-top stunt on live television.
Friggin’ Maverick then walked through the crowd of athletes, retrieved the Olympic flag, put it on the back of a motorcycle, and then rode off back through the crowd of athletes. (Real talk: Who else was worried some of the athletes weren’t going to get out of the way in time, causing a very unfortunate moment?)
This then cuts to a pre-recorded vignette of Cole Trickle riding through Paris on his motorcycle and eventually to a waiting airplane, which takes him to 2028 host city, Los Angeles. Ethan Hunt then, of course, jumps from a plane, lands on the ground and passes off the Olympic flag. Naturally, in the process, Jerry Maguire managed to make some alterations to the iconic Hollywood sign by adding three O’s above the two O’s in “Hollywood” to make them look like the Olympic Rings. Honestly, it was a nice touch. Bravo, Jack Reacher! Even in the face of all of the Scientology stuff, you manage to still be cool.
Mind you, the above vignette was beautifully soundtracked by an edited/looped version of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “By the Way.” This song continued to soundtrack the Olympic Flag making its way through Los Angeles until it made its way to the beach, where the Chili Peppers performed “Can’t Stop.”
Billie Eilish and Finneas then performed “Birds of a Feather” from a lifeguard lookout next to the Chili Peppers’ stage following their performance.
Then, Olympic mascot Snoop Dogg appeared and performed “Drop It Like It’s Hot.” After that, Dr. Dre made a surprise appearance, and he and Snoop performed “The Next Episode.”
Paris seemingly set a new standard for the Olympics, especially with the presentation of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. Los Angeles has just under four years before the next Olympic Games. Here’s hoping they bring it, because the Paris Games truly were something else.
