Last night, the Paris Olympics closing ceremony saw spectators gather in France’s biggest stadium to witness the moment Los Angeles received the Olympic flag ahead of it hosting the next Games in 2028.
The star-studded ceremony featured Tom Cruise abseiling into the stadium to collect the flag, before driving out on a motorbike. The ceremony then cut to a pre-recorded clip of him boarding a plane in Paris and then parachuting into the City of Angels – all the while Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg, Dr Dre and the Red Hot Chili Peppers performed on a California beach.
This was all beamed into the Stade de France, where five-time Grammy winner H.E.R sang the national anthem, in front of 70,000 people and thousands more tuning in from their homes all across the globe.
Perhaps feeling a little left out, Donald Trump waded in and tries to take credit for LA being awarded the Games – while also slamming his predecessor Barack Obama over the bid.
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, the former president claimed he worked with the Olympics Organizing Committee of Los Angeles and the International Olympic Committee when he was president-elect, saying he “gave them what they wanted to hear, and got the job done!”
“As President-Elect, I worked with the Olympic Organizing Committee of Los Angeles in getting the 2028 Olympics to come to the United States. There was tremendous competition from other countries,” he wrote.
“President Obama refused to speak to the International Olympic Committee (perhaps because of a previous rejection by them of a proposal personally made by him!), which needed the enthusiastic support and approval of the U.S. President – Without which they would not have chosen our Country.”
He added: “I gave them what they wanted to hear, and got the job done! It was my great honor to do so. Hopefully I will be President, and our Country will have reached new (and record!) levels of success. SEE YOU IN 2028. Thank you!”
The US will become the third country in the world to host the games three times, having won the 2028 ballot after losing out to Paris for this year’s games in a historical double allocation in September 2017.
“These are two great cities from two great countries with a great Olympic history,” said IOC president Thomas Bach at the time.
“Both cities are very enthusiastic about the Games and are promoting the Olympic spirit in a fantastic way.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Boss is set to land with the Olympic flag in the city on Monday afternoon, where she will host a news conference to showcase the iconic item.
The LA opening ceremony plans will reportedly take a more traditional route than Paris’s with a stadium-based approach at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.
The city will have a busy few years for sports, as it’s due to host a Fifa World Cup Event and the US Women’s Open in 2026, as well as another Super Bowl in 2027.
