Setting out to prove that topping Paris isn’t mission impossible, Los Angeles rolled out a skydiving Tom Cruise, Grammy winner Billie Eilish and other stars on Sunday as it took over Olympic hosting duties for 2028 from the French capital, which closed out its 2024 Games with joy and panache.
Following in Paris’ footsteps — it made spectacular use of its cityscape for its first Games in 100 years — promises to be a challenge. But the City of Angels showed that it, too, has aces up its sleeves, like the City of Light.
Cruise — in his Ethan Hunt persona — wowed by descending from the top of the Stade de France to electric guitar Mission Impossible riffs. Once his feet were back on the ground — and after shaking hands with enthralled athletes — he took the Olympic flag from star gymnast Simone Biles, fixed it to the back of a motorcycle Top Gun style and roared out of the arena.
The appetite-whetting message was clear: Los Angeles 2028 promises to be an eye-opener, too.
Still, this was largely Paris’ night — its opportunity for one final party. And what a party it was.
“These were sensational Olympic Games from start to finish,” IOC president Thomas Bach said.
Having announced his intention to leave office next year, Bach struck a more sombre note. “We know that the Olympic Games cannot create peace, but the Olympic Games can create a culture of peace that inspires the world,” he said. “Let us live this culture of peace every single day.”
Then came another change of gear, courtesy Cruise. In a prerecorded segment after being lowered on a rope live from the roof’s giddy heights, Cruise drove his bike past the Eiffel Tower, onto a plane and then skydived over the Hollywood Hills. Three circles were added to the O’s of the famed Hollywood sign to create five interlaced Olympic rings.
United for peace
As a delicate pink sunset gave way to night, athletes first marched into the stadium waving the flags of their 205 countries and territories — a display of global unity in a world gripped by global tensions and conflicts, including those in Ukraine and Gaza. The stadium screens carried the words, “Together, united for peace.”
The closing ceremony saw the awarding of the last medals — each embedded with a chunk of the Eiffel Tower. Fittingly for the first Olympics that aimed for gender parity, they all went to women — the gold, silver and bronze medalists from the women’s marathon earlier on Sunday.
The US team again topped the medal table, with 126 in all and 40 of them gold. Three were courtesy gymnast Biles, who made a resounding return to the top of the Olympic podium after prioritising her mental health.
Unlike Paris’ rain-drenched but exuberant opening ceremony that played out along the Seine in the heart of city, the closing ceremony’s artistic portion took a more sober approach, with space-age and Olympic themes.
Hollywood beckons
Paris has delivered, the baton’s over to LA. Those tasked with following Paris seem impressed.
“They have done a spectacular job,” Los Angeles 2028 CEO Casey Wasserman said.
He said Los Angeles would not try to match Paris in style and substance but in
“authenticity and execution”, a view also echoed by IOC president Bach.
“If LA would like to copy the Eiffel Tower, it would be a recipe for disaster,” Bach said. “Each Olympic Games has to be authentic, has to show the culture of the host country.”
Mayor Karen Bass acknowledged Paris had set a high bar, and that LA’s homelessness problems would be a challenge to overcome.
But the City of Angels has one world class asset that nobody else can claim: “We do have Hollywood, so I expect a lot of magical opportunities.”
