It wasn’t that hard to believe, but last week’s report that Tom Cruise would be performing a stunt to close out this year’s Olympic Games was confirmed today when the thrill-seeker and cinematic legend rappelled into Stad de France to retrieve the Olympic Flag. The sequence began with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, accompanied by Team USA gold medalist Simone Biles, accepting the flag in a hand off from the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo. Following Bass’ receiving of the flag, H.
E.R. performed a jazzy, rock and roll-inspired version of the Star-Spangled Banner.
As she continued to play, the broadcast cut to a shot of Cruise at the top of Stad de France, then followed as he rappelled down into the stadium amongst the crowd. Wading through, he arrived on stage where Mayor Bass and Biles passed the flag off. Cruise then took off out of the stadium on a motorcycle, at which point the closing ceremony broadcast cut to a prerecorded segment that featured the actor driving through Paris, taking off in a carrier plane, and flying halfway across the world to California.
Hovering over Los Angeles, Cruise skydived out of the plane with the flag, landed right near the Hollywood sign, then proceeded to set the sign up so the OOs of WOOD appeared as the Olympic rings. An Olympic cyclist then biked up the mountain to meet Cruise and retrieve the flag. Biking throughout the city and passing it off to different Olympians, the sequence ultimately lands at Venice Beach, where the Red Hot C.