PARIS PASSES TORCH TO L.A.

More than 70,000 people descended on the Stade de France Sunday (8/11) for the closing of the 2024 Paris Olympics. In addition to a medal ceremony for the top finishers of the women’s marathon, which concluded earlier in the day, Paris passed the proverbial torch to Los Angeles, where the 2028 Olympics will take place.

As part of the presentation, Tom Cruise put his Mission Impossible skills to work, rappelling from the edge of the open-air stadium to the stage to accept the Olympic flag from Simone Biles. In a pre-taped video, he traversed Paris via motorcycle, then, per the L.A. Times, "rode into a cargo plane, skydived into the Hollywood Hills and affixed three extra O's to the Hollywood sign to create an image of the Olympic rings."

In L.A., mountain biker Kate Courtney delivered the flag to four-time Olympic champion sprinter Michael Johnson, who ran with it through the city's streets. Skateboarder Jagger Eaton, a Paris silver medalist, then brought the flag to what was widely reported to have been Venice Beach but was actually Long Beach's Belmont Shore, where the Red Hot Chili Peppers headlined a concert that included Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre.

The primetime presentation of the Closing Ceremony, which also saw H.E.R. sing the national anthem, aired on NBC and Peacock. It was produced by Fulwell 73 Productions under the creative direction of Emmy-winning executive producer Ben Winston.

Our only question is: Where was Flavor Flav?

STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND WATCH SNOOP DOGG PERFORM IN LOS ANGELES! 😎🌴 pic.twitter.com/psloYLGKQn

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 12, 2024