Tom Cruise gave the 2024 Paris Olympics the perfect sendoff and the 2028 LA Games an epic start.
The Olympics will return to the United States in 2028 with Los Angeles hosting. So the A-lister began the transition perfectly—with a Hollywood stunt.
As the closing ceremony was wrapping up on August 11, The 62-year-old surprised the crowd by standing atop Stade de France. With fans going wild, Tom lowered onto the stadium’s field on a wire Mission Impossible style.
The actor then took the Olympic flag from gymnast Simone Biles and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, set it on the back of a motorcycle, and drove away from the ceremony.
The closing of the 2024 Olympics featuring Tom Cruise… Gojira’s opening performance and the way they finished with Red Hot Chili Peppers, even though we didn’t see them in the final, was very good. LA 2028 wait for us
#Parigi2024 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/IuhbByQMHH
— Furkan (@Furkan_Shenn) August 11, 2024
From there, the stunt switched to a pre-recorded video showing Tom Cruise carrying the flag from France to the U.S. After racing through the Parisian streets, the actor hopped on an airplane. Then, he told the camera he was on his way as he strapped himself into skydiving gear.
Tom Cruise And Several Olympians Bring The Olympic Flag To Los Angeles
With Red Hot Chili Peppers’ On My Way playing, Tom Cruise flew across the globe then jumped out of the plane, landed by the Hollywood sign, and added a few Os to the landmark to create the Olympic rings.
Olympic cyclist Kate Courtney took over from there by carrying the flag through the LA streets where she met fellow Olympian Michael Johnson, who carried it to Jagger Eaton. The athletes collected a crowd along the way. And they followed the flag into a Red Hot Chilli Peppers concert on Venice Beach.
The stunt officially kicked off Los Angeles’ Olympic reign, which will be full of surprises and shows. Because, as the commentators pointed out, it’s a city that “loves spectacles.”