Tom Cruise to Perform Stunt at Paris Olympics Closing Ceremony: Hollywood Glamour Meets Olympic Tradition

The 2024 Paris Olympics will conclude on Sunday with a spectacular closing ceremony, bringing an end to 17 days of thrilling competition. As the world's top athletes celebrate their achievements, the Stade de France will witness a unique performance from a Hollywood legend: Tom Cruise.

Unlike the opening ceremony, which unfolded along the scenic Seine River, the closing ceremony will follow a more familiar format. Thousands of athletes from 206 nations will parade into the stadium, their faces beaming with pride and the echoes of their triumphs still ringing in their ears. Among them will be Simone Biles, LeBron James, and Katie Ledecky, some of the most celebrated athletes of our time. But they will be joined by an unexpected guest – Tom Cruise.

Cruise's appearance is not merely a cameo. The actor is set to perform a daring stunt, rappelling from the roof of the Stade de France and landing on the pitch while carrying the Olympic flag. According to TMZ, the broadcast will then transition to a pre-recorded video showing Cruise flying from Paris to Los Angeles, where he skydives towards the iconic Hollywood sign. While photographic evidence of Cruise scaling the sign exists, footage of the skydiving stunt remains elusive.

This out-of-the-ordinary spectacle serves a deeper purpose than just a Hollywood star seeking publicity. Cruise's involvement marks the ceremonial handover from the Paris Games to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Traditionally, the Olympic flag is passed to the delegation from the next Summer Olympics host city. This year, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, the first Black female mayor to receive the flag, will accept it from Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

Although there's always the possibility of a stunt double taking Cruise's place, the actor has built his career on performing his own dangerous feats. He famously rode a motorcycle off a cliff and parachuted to safety during filming for the 2023 movie "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One." His dedication to authenticity extends to learning to fly helicopters for the "Mission: Impossible" franchise.

This isn't Cruise's first foray into Olympic tradition. In 2004, he carried the Olympic torch through Los Angeles as it made its way to the Games in Athens.

The closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics will air live on Sunday, August 11th, at 3 p.m. ET, with a replay scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. You can watch the event on NBC, NBCOlympics.com, the NBC Olympics app, Peacock, and Fubo, which offers a free trial for potential subscribers.

The 2024 Paris Olympics have brought the world together through the spirit of competition and sportsmanship. The closing ceremony promises a memorable send-off, with Tom Cruise's daredevil performance bridging the gap between the present and the future of the Olympic Games, and bringing a touch of Hollywood glamour to a global sporting event.