Tom Cruise has sensationally jumped from the roof of Stade de France in an eyebrow-raising stunt as part of the handover to Los Angeles at the closing ceremony.
Cruise, known for his death-defying stunts in the Mission Impossible franchise, looked every inch his Ethan Hunt character as he leapt into the stadium in front of 71,000 spectators.
The Hollywood star, 62, was strapped into a harness as he jumped off the ledge, sending the crowd wild. He slid about 35m from the roof of the venue.
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He was seen greeting athletes present at the ceremony before landing and taking the Olympic flag away on a motorbike.
A pre-recorded segment then showed the star carrying the flag back to the US on a plane before he draped it over the Hollywood sign.
The ceremony featured performances from H.E.R., Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Billie Eilish as well as Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre — with the Fight For You hitmaker singing the US national anthem The Star-Spangled Banner in the stadium.
A report from TMZ earlier this month revealed the Los Angeles element of the stunt was filmed in March with insiders saying they had expected the Hollywood star to be spotted and the information to be leaked beforehand.
Cruise is said to have been the driving force behind the spectacle, and approached the International Olympic Committee (IOC) himself about doing a series of stunts to bring the Paris and Los Angeles Games together.
The event marked a celebration of the past fortnight of sporting action in Paris and IOC president Thomas Bach quipped that the Olympics had been “Seine-sational”.
He said: “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.
“These were sensational Olympic Games from start to finish — or dare I say: Seine-sational Olympic Games.
“The Olympic Games Paris 2024 were Olympic Games of a new era.”
— With AAP
