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Louise Thomas
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Tom Cruise is reportedly set to play a part in the Paris 2024 Olympics Closing Ceremony.
The August 11 event will witness the handing over of the Olympic flag from Paris to Los Angeles, the next host of the Games in 2028.
TMZ reports that Cruise, one of Hollywood’s most famous stars, will drop in – literally – for the flag exchange.
According to the outlet, the Mission: Impossible star plans to rappel down from the top of Stade de France, land on the stadium field and carry the Olympic flag.
While details of the closing ceremony are being kept top secret, it is known that LA Mayor Karen Bass will receive the Olympic flag from Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo during the televised spectacle.
“Expect a major Hollywood production,” Deadline reported, citing its own source.
TMZ adds that Cruise allegedly filmed a segment for the closing ceremony back in March. It will reportedly show the actor’s journey in an airplane before he skydives down to the Hollywood sign with the Olympic flag.
The outlet has published paparazzi photos of Cruise standing on the sign from that time.
The Independent has contacted the International Olympic Committee and Cruise’s representatives for comment.
Cruise has already been seen at several events at the Paris Olympics. On day two, the Top Gun star sat down with other A-listers to witness the return of Team USA’s Simone Biles, the most decorated athlete in the history of gymnastics.
Snoop Dogg had front-row seats while Greta Gerwig, Ariana Grande, John Legend and Anna Wintour also attended Biles’ competition.
The opening ceremony, too, featured a performance by a famous American as Lady Gaga performed Zizi Jeanmaire’s “Mon Truc En Plumes” in a pre-recorded segment.
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The three-and-a-half-hour spectacle on the River Seine saw 85 boats carry almost 7,000 athletes from 205 countries.
In a withering two-star review for The Independent, Nick Hilton said the rainy procession was “too much filler, too little killer.”
“The most striking images of the show – like the animatronic horse that galloped down the Seine – all suffered from the interminable nature of the course,” he wrote. “Only the hot air balloon finish – a tribute to the Montgolfier brothers – appeared with both grandeur and alacrity.
“Too much filler, too little killer. And whoever decided to predicate the visual success of the ceremony on the Parisian weather displayed either intense hubris or a baffling lack of guile. Which was it? Well, the funny thing about the French is that they don’t have a word for naïveté.”
