Californian natives Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish and Snoop Dogg also featured in the star-studded handover section of the ceremony on Sunday. It followed after a “golden voyager”, acrobats and acclaimed French musicians performed during the main ceremony held in the French stadium. US R&B artist H.
E.R. sang the US national anthem, the Star-Spangled Banner, as the handover ceremony got under way.
The change-over section opened with the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo handing over the Olympic flag to the Mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, who was joined on stage by Olympic champion US gymnast Simone Biles. Cheers then rang through the crowd as Cruise was spotted in the rafters before he descended into the stadium from a rope in true Mission: Impossible fashion. After greeting Olympians in the crowd, he shook hands with Bass before taking the Olympic flag from her and hopping on a motorcycle to take it on a joyride out of the stadium.
A pre-recorded film showed the Hollywood star riding past classic Parisian landmarks like the Eiffel Tower before arriving at an airport. After boarding the aircraft, Cruise could be seen skydiving out of the plane and later landing in America. The star then trekked the flag up to the famous Hollywood sign before he passed it on to US cyclist Kate Courtney.
After the flag was passed between several US Olympians, it arrived at the famous Venice Beach where the Red Hot Chili Peppers were entertaining a crowd with their hit song Can’t Stop. T.