PARIS — Californian music icons Billie Eilish, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Snoop Dogg performed for thousands of fans on Sunday as Paris ended a Summer Games that restored the Olympics' mojo, handing over to Los Angeles and Hollywood's razzle-dazzle. While Paris used its most famous landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and the Palace of Versailles as its star draw, LA is already turning to its home-grown A-list celebrities to impress the crowds. The closing ceremony began with French swimming sensation Leon Marchand collecting the Olympic flame in a lantern from the gardens overlooking the Louvre museum, beginning its short journey to the stadium in the Paris outskirts.
Moments later flagbearers of each of the 205 Olympic delegations paraded into the stadium, led by French rugby star Antoine Dupont, before thousands more athletes spilled into the arena to rapturous applause and a thumping soundtrack. The 2-1/2 hour show included a theatrical sequence entitled "Records," which promised a dream-like immersive journey through time, led by a "Golden Voyager." ADVERTISEMENT His odyssey begins at the origins of the Olympic Games before proceeding to a science-fiction-filled dystopian future where the Olympic Games have vanished and must be rediscovered.
Along the way, the voyager will discover the symbols of peace and unity that underpin the values of Olympism. But it is the musicians and Eilish, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Snoop Dogg, the U.S.
rapper who has been contributing to NBC P.