After two weeks of thrilling competition among the world's greatest athletes, the Paris Olympics 2024 concluded on August 11th in France's national stadium, Stade de France.
Tom Cruise, the legendary Hollywood star of “The Mission: Impossible” movies, rappelled down from the top of Stade de France, which was packed with 80,000 spectators, and then landed on the stadium field, carried the Olympic flag, and rode a motorcycle through the crowd, showcasing handing over hosting rights for the Summer Games to Los Angeles in 2028.
The athletes' parade, the Olympic flag being given over to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics organizers, and the medal presentation ceremony for the women's marathon earlier in the day were among the ceremony's usual elements. At the women's marathon, Sifan Hassan won the last gold medal and set a new Olympic record with 2:22:55.
In the final Olympic event in Paris, the U.S. women's basketball team defeated France to capture gold. With that victory, the Americans tied China for the most points with 40. With 126 medals overall, the United States triumphed handily. The Americans took home 40 gold medals in addition to 42 silver and 44 bronze.
After a nearly two-year wait, the world will get to witness the Winter Olympics in Italy in 2026, co-hosted by Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. The Winter Olympics in Turin will celebrate its 20th anniversary during the next Games and Milan will host its first. There will also be events in seven additional Italian cities in the northeast.
Several celebrities, including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snoop Dogg, Billie Eilish, and H.E.R., attended the Paris Olympics closing ceremony. The French group Phoenix was among the all-star roster that took the stage as part of the 2028 Los Angeles Games handover.
"It's a very visual, very choreographic, very acrobatic show with an operatic dimension to give a great visual fresco and say goodbye to athletes from all over the world," said Thomas Jolly, creative director of both the opening and closing ceremonies.
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