A general view during the closing ceremony.
Credit: Reuters Photo
The Paris Olympics Games 2024 ended with a closing ceremony on August 12 at the Stade de France in Paris.
Orchestrated by Thomas Jolly, the closing ceremony commenced with French singer Zaho d Sagazan singing the famous 'Sous le ciel de Paris'.
The about two-hour ceremony saw performances by singer Snoop Doog and Billie Ellish in the arena which witnessed around 70,000 people.
The ceremony which was held in the Saint-Denis stadium gave way to the next Summer Games 2028 in Los Angeles.
The Olympic flag arrived in Los Angeles on August 12, where it will be flown in 2028 when the city hosts the next Summer Games.
The flag arrived aboard a Delta Airlines jet carrying American athletes and officials and painted with "LA28" and palm trees on its side. Hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur's 'California Love' blasted on loudspeakers on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport as the plane came to a stop.
Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise channelled his inner Ethan Hunt, his iconic character from the blockbuster Mission: Impossible films, as he helped bid adieu to the 2024 Paris Olympics and hand things off to Los Angeles for the 2028 Games with a daring skydiving stunt.
Actor Tom Cruise jumps from the roof of the Stade de France during the closing ceremony.
Actor Tom Cruise holds the Olympic flag during the closing ceremony.
Actor Tom Cruise holds the Olympic flag during the closing ceremony.
Actor Tom Cruise shakes hands with the Mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass during the closing ceremony.
The 62-year-old descended from the top of the gigantic Stade de France to the Mission: Impossible theme song, shook hands with the athletes on his way to the stage, took the Olympic flag from star gymnast Simone Biles, and carried it on a bike through Paris streets to a cargo plane ready to take off for Los Angeles.
Cruise later on his official X account shared a selfie when he was in the air suspended from the safety cables above the stadium.
"Thank you, Paris! Now off to LA," he captioned the photo.
In a pre-recorded segment after being lowered on a rope live from the roof's giddy heights, Cruise drove his bike past the Eiffel Tower, onto a plane and then skydived over the Hollywood Hills. Three circles were added to the O's of the famed Hollywood sign to create five interlaced Olympic rings.
'Satanic' ritual
Allegedly the use of 'demonic' imagery in the closing ceremony had led to people claiming that it is supposedly a diabolic ritual.
The organisers paid a homage to Lucifer (Oppisheklio), the sun god, by showing him as a being of golden light.
An X user wrote, "I swear that this world is infected by Evil. How else does one explain this. But let it be known, to the evil one, at the conclusion of The End Times will finally be your end. All Power, Glory, Love and Thanks to The One The True and Almighty God. Be gone, Satan. God commands (sic)."
Another user wrote, "The 2024 Olympics closing ceremony was obviously an homage to Lucifer (Oppisheklio) the sun god. They can say it means whatever they want, but I see demonic entities entering an astral portal during a ritual. It's all front and center because they know their time is almost up (sic)."
Another post on X read, "At the Olympic closing ceremony, the organizers showed Lucifer, moments after being cast from heaven and landing on earth, as a being of golden light (sic)."
"After opening the Olympic Games with demonic presence, they closed it with demons ending it again. It’s a clear evidence that the organizers sold their souls to the devil (sic)," another social media user wrote.
Another user wrote, "The Olympics Closing Ceremony looks like a Celebration of Satanism and Demonic Forces (sic)."