The closing ceremony of the 2024 Olympics took place on Sunday at a packed Stade de France, bringing the curtain down on a Games widely regarded as one of the most successful in history.
True to the rumours, Tom Cruise performed a "death-defying stunt", abseiling from the Stade de France roof – a sure highlight of the night.
After taking the flag from gymnast Simone Biles, Cruise then "transported" it to Los Angeles, host of the 2028 Games, in a pre-filmed sequence that traversed the streets of Paris and the hills of Hollywood.
All this while the Red Hot Chili Peppers played in the background, their performance beamed live into the Stade de France from Los Angeles.
The band's performance was swiftly followed from a very sunny California by performances from Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre.
{{ scope.legend }}
© {{ scope.credits }}Cauldron extinguished
The ceremony began in the Tuileries Gardens where French quadruple gold medallist swimmer Leon Marchand — one of the home heroes of the Games — extinguished the cauldron and took the flame in a lantern to the stadium.
An estimated 9,000 athletes were in attendance, along with 270 performers, for the final act directed by Thomas Jolly, the mastermind of the spectacular opening ceremony that took place on the River Seine.
The spectacle kicked off with a golden figure at the centre of the show – lowered from the roof of the Stade de France before gliding across the stage on the pitch.
The so-called "Golden Voyager", the IOC told us, landed "in a world that is deserted and mysterious, ready to explore”.
In a choreographic ballet, the figure discovers the Olympic rings, which are excavated out of the floor and hoisted into the air.
At the same time, French pianist and opera singer Benjamin Bernheim sang the Hymn to Apollo, while Alain Roche played on a piano while being suspended vertically in the air.
'Stade de Dance'
Paris organisers nickname the stadium the "Stade de Dance" as French band Phoenix get the music started with their rendition of Lisztomania, before as tearing into their second song, 1901 with the help of Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig.
French artists Angèle and Kaminsky, and Cambodian rapper Vannda also made appearances.
In a speech, president of the Paris organising committee, the three-time canoe Olympic champion Tony Estanguet said: "To you, athletes, what can I say? We knew you would be brilliant, but you were magic."
France finished fifth in the medal table, with 16 gold, 26 silver and 22 bronze for an overall tally of 64.
"You made us happy, you made us feel alive. On behalf of billions of sport lovers across the five continents, thank you very much," Estanguet added.
Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee and 1976 fencing Olympic champion, carried on the speech fanfare.
"Millions of people celebrating the athletes in the streets of Paris and all across France," he told the crowd.
"The Olympic Games Paris 2024 were a celebration of the athletes and sport at its best. The first Olympic Games delivered fully under our Olympic Agenda reforms: younger, more urban, more inclusive, more sustainable. The first ever Olympic Games with full gender parity.
Olympic flag lowered
The Olympic Anthem was performed by the Maîtrise de Fontainebleau and the Orchestre Divertimento while the Olympic Flag was lowered.
It was passed from Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo to Bach and then to Karen Bass, mayor of Los Angeles, which will hosting the next Olympics in 2028.
Before the end of the night, French swimmer Leon Marchand featured once again at the Stade de France to raptuous applause.
That was followed by French singer Yseult brining the show to a close with a rendition of Frank Sinatra's My Way.
