Olympics 2024 closing ceremony brings end to incredible Paris Games as Tom Cruise steals show with Los Angeles handover
Scroll down to see the best pics from the ceremony
AFTER 16 days of the best athletes in the world competing for ultimate glory, Sunday marked the final day of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
And as the world said “au revoir” to France, Paris had one last spectacle to offer with its closing ceremony, which came with huge stars like Tom Cruise and stunning performances on stage.
Hollywood star Tom Cruise was pictured at the top of the stadium before performing a stunt.
The ceremony to hand over the Olympic flag to Los Angeles, USA, for the 2028 Games then got underway.
After the flag was handed over the cameras then panned to Cruise, who jumped off the roof and down into the stadium floor following the US national anthem.
Cruise went through a crowd of excited athletes and retrieved the flag before planting it on his motorcycle and driving off with it.
A video then played showing the Mission Impossible actor driving the flag away from the stadium before he was seen jumping out of an aeroplane and handing the flag to a cyclist by the Hollywood sign.
The video featured BBC pundit and four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson, who won gold in Atalanta – the last time the summer Olympics were hosted in the USA.
After changing hands, the flag arrived at a beach front where Red Hot Chili Peppers then performed on stage.
Following their performance in the scenic setting, Billie Eilish followed up with a performance of her own.
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Snoop Dogg, who was part of the Paris Games from the start, then strolled onto Long Beach in a white outfit for his own performance.
The rapper was then joined by fellow artist Dr. Dre as the duo rounded out the performances at the closing ceremony as Snoop waved the flag.
The opening ceremony saw athletes showed off along the river Seine before Celine Dion performed a moving score at the Eiffel Tower.
However, the closing ceremony took a more traditional approach by staying in the Stade de France, which played host to rugby sevens and athletics.
For the glamorous ceremony that lasted from 8pm to past 11pm, the stadium was turned into a concert hall as athletes filled on to the huge 2,800 square metre stage.
Kicking off the closing ceremony, French singer-songwriter and musician Zaho de Sagazan appeared in a stunning black dress to perform a song.
The games’ most decorated athlete, Leon Marchand, then took the Olympic flame from the cauldron shortly after.
Next up was an beautifully-performed orchestral number in the stadium, before the team flagbearers emerged soon after.
Team GB were represented by Alex Yee and Bryony Page, who won gold in the men’s triathlon and in the women’s trampoline respectively.
They entered the stage wearing blue hawaiian shirts and lighter blue shorts.
As the national teams bunched together after parading around the stadium, the music went from orchestral to a party atmosphere.
This included songs such as GALA’s Freed from Desire and Queen hit We Are the Champions.
Later on the stadium lights went off, with the centre of the arena only being lit up with flashing lights while an ominous drumbeat played during the light show.
A person in a striking gold outfit – known as the Golden Voyager – was then slowly spotted falling down into the stadium.
Next a model statue of The Winged Victory of Samothrace from the Louvre emerged up into the stadium.
Scores of extras wearing white and grey then emerged to lift a prop up high next to the Voyager.
These circular props turned out to be the Olympic rings, which were then collected together and lifted high into the sky.
After the performance, athletes crammed towards the centre of the stadium, where they were treated to a song by French indie rock band Phoenix.
A host of others followed, one of which was French duo Air, who performed Playground Love.
The penultimate act was for Leon Marchand to enter the stadium and finally extinguish the flame and once and for all call an end to the Paris summer Olympics before singer Yseult rounded out the ceremony with a classy rendition of My Way.
Team GB in particular can celebrate a historic games in the City of Love, with 65 medals across 22 disciplines – one better than their Tokyo haul – including 14 gold medals.
The overall winner of the Paris Games was Team USA, who pipped China to top spot with both getting 40 golds, though USA won 44 silvers to China’s 27.
SunSport looked at 24 of the best pictures from the Paris Games.
However, the French summer of sport is not over just yet, as the Paralympics come to town on August 28 through to September 8.
