Tom Cruise reportedly to end Paris Olympics with epic stunt to pass the torch to L.A.
Tom Cruise will take a page out of his “Mission: Impossible” playbook for the Olympic closing ceremony.
The 62-year-old actor is reportedly planning an epic stunt that will unfold as Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo hands over the Olympic flag to L.A. Mayor Karen Bass at the Aug. 11 celebration, TMZ first reported. And he pitched the idea to the International Olympic Committee himself.
Céline Dion describes her Olympics performance as a ‘dream come true’ after returning to the world stage at the 2024 Games’ globally viewed opening ceremony.
The alleged plan is to have Cruise start by rappelling from the roof of the Stade de France to the stadium’s field, Olympic flag in tow. (There are also reports that Cruise may use a stunt double for this portion, but nothing is confirmed yet.)
The broadcast will then cut to a pre-recorded segment that shows the Academy Award nominee skydiving down to the Hollywood sign. There, he’ll pass the flag to athletes, including a cyclist, skateboarder and volleyball player, as they wave it around the host city for the 2028 Games.
The Hollywood sign sequence was filmed in March, according to TMZ, but given Cruise’s penchant for near-lethal stunts, his dive raised little alarm. Similarly, sightings of the star speeding around Paris earlier this year were dismissed given “Mission: Impossible 8” was filming in Europe.
Representatives for Cruise did not reply immediately Friday to The Times’ request for comment. The Paris 2024 Organizing Committee has declined to discuss ceremony details.
The 2024 Paris Games are a made-for-TV Olympics with the Eiffel Tower, Château de Versailles, the Seine, and the Grand Palais each hosting events.
With Paris 2024’s artistic director Thomas Jolly at the helm, the closing ceremony — dubbed “Records” — is poised to rival the drama of a Cruise film.
The Stade de France will be “transformed into a gigantic concert hall,” the official Olympic website reads, where more than 100 performers, acrobats, dancers and circus artists will “take spectators on a journey through time, both past and future.”
“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,” Jolly said. “Together, let’s make this evening a memorable and conscious celebration, honouring the past and embracing the future.”
“Expect a major Hollywood production,” a source told Deadline.
Cruise, who in 2004 helped carry the Olympic torch in L.A. as it made its way to Athens, cheered on Team USA during the first week of the Paris Games, attending women’s gymnastics and swimming events.
“It’s awesome,” the “Top Gun: Maverick” star told Reuters. “Great stories, great athletes. It’s incredible what they have to do, the sense of accomplishment.”
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