Top 10 moments from 2024 Olympics Closing Ceremony: From Tom Cruise's stunt to Golden Voyager act

10 best moments from Paris Olympics closing ceremony: From Billie Eilish to suspended piano performance

Paris, the City of Love, bid farewell to the 2024 Olympic Games on Sunday, August 11, passing the torch to Los Angeles for the 2028 Games. The United States stood at the top with 126 medals, pushing China to the second. The spectacular closing ceremony at Stade de France conveyed a message of protecting the spirit of the games amid a world fraught with conflict. The ceremony was a treat for fans, with stunts from Tom Crusie, a heavy portrayal of the Golden Voyager meeting Nike, the Goddess of Victory, and many more. Here are the top ten moments from the 2024 Paris Olympics closing ceremony.

1. The Olympic Rings appear as singer performs 'Hymn to Apollo'

In a stunning choreographic ballet, the Golden Voyager uncovered the Olympic rings as they were lifted from the Stade de France floor in Paris and raised into the arena's center. As the Olympic Rings appeared, French pianist and opera singer Benjamin Bernheim performed the 'Hymn to Apollo', while Swiss pianist Alain Roche played piano suspended vertically in the air. According to Olympic Movement founder Pierre de Coubertin, the five rings "represent the five parts of the world now won over to the cause of Olympism and ready to accept its fecund rivalries." Click here to watch the appearance of Olympic Rings at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Games.

2. Golden Voyager meets Goddess of Victory

At the 2024 Paris Olympics closing ceremony, the ethereal Golden Voyager abseiled from the top of the arena to meet Nike, the goddess of victory, awakening the Olympic spirit. The extraterrestrial character covered with golf armor and a spiked headpiece was designed by director Thomas Jolly. The Golden Voyager also danced on the closing ceremony stage. Click here to watch the moment Golden Voyager meets Goddess of Victory.

3. Katie Ledecky and Nick Mead carry the US flag

Olympians Katie Ledecky and Nick Mead carried the US flag to the Stade de France arena for the closing ceremony of the Paris Games. Ledecky won a gold medal in swimming and Mead in rowing. The US flag was at the tail end of the procession as the host of the 2028 Games. "There's a lot of countries in front of us, we're the last ones to walk in so it's pretty special since we're headed to LA next," Ledecky said to NBC's closing ceremony commentators Jimmy Fallon and Mike Tirico as they walked. Click here to watch the Olympic gold medalists carrying the US flag at the closing ceremony.

4. Tom Cruise passes the torch to LA

In a stunning performance, leaping from the arena's roof into the crowd, Tom Cruise greeted Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles to pass the torch to US soil. The gymnast passed the flag for him to transport it to Los Angeles, the host city for the 2028 Games. Cruise then rode off on his motorcycle with the flag, leading into a pre-recorded sequence where he drives through the streets of Paris, parachutes from a plane, and skydives to the Hollywood sign in California. Click here to watch Cruise passing the torch from Paris to Los Angeles.

5. H.E.R.'s rendition of US National Anthem

R&B singer H.E.R. performed the US national anthem 'Star-Spangled Banner' at the closing ceremony, donning an all-white attire, as gymnast Simone Biles held the Olympic flag. The flag was then officially handed to  Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass by Paris' Mayor Anne Hidalgo, marking the next games in LA soil. H.E.R., the California-based artist, recently performed at the Super Bowl LVIII halftime show with Usher. Click here to watch H.E.R. singing the US national anthem at the Paris Games closing ceremony.

6. Alain Roche plays piano suspended in mid-air

Swiss pianist and composer Alain Roche stunned Olympic fans with his piano performance that defied gravity. Roche performed on a vertical piano suspended in mid-air at the Stade de France in an unusual position along with lyric singer Benjamin Bernheim. He played a newer rendition of Gabriel Faure’s 'Hymne à Apollon'. 'It’s so special to be in the middle of all this energy, all this adrenaline ... in a stadium with 70,000 people with a moment of suspense for such a poetic piece as the 'Hymn to Apollo'," Roche said of the experience to website Classic FM. Click here to watch Roche playing piano suspended in mid-air.

7. Tom Cruise’s 'Mission Impossible' stunt

Tom Cruise returned with his 'Mission Impossible' type stunt to mark the handover of the Olympic Games to Los Angeles. Adding a Hollywood flare to the closing ceremony, the 62-year-old descended from off the Stade de France roof, landing into the crowd. He then shook hands with athletes, took the Olympic flag from gymnast Simon Biles, and roared out of the arena with the flag. A pre-recorded video then showed him skydiving to the Hollywood sign in LA, marking the next Olympics. Click here to watch Cruise's daring stunt at the closing ceremony.

8. Billie Eilish performs at LA28 handover celebration

In a nod to the LA28, Billie Eilish performed in Los Angeles. She sang 'Birds of a Feather' with her brother, Finneas, atop a lifeguard tower, enhancing the iconic Los Angeles theme. Wearing a baggy white t-shirt with red and blue diagonal lines, she joined the celebrations, marking Hollywood City as the next host. Click here to watch Eilish performing in Los Angeles to mark the Olympics handover ceremony.

9. Snoop Dogg's performance

Followed by Eilish, Snoop Dogg, who was a constant presence in Paris, also performed in Los Angeles. He sang 'Drop It Like It's Hot' and then brought out Dr Dre to perform 'The Next Episode'. Click here to watch Dogg performing at the LA28 Olympic Games handover celebration.

10. Leon Marchand extinguishes the Olympic cauldron

Marking the end of the 2024 Paris Games, French quadruple gold medallist swimmer Leon Marchand extinguished the Olympic cauldron that was lit with LED lighting and smoke, unlike the traditional way, and carried the flame in a lantern to the Stade de France for the closing ceremony. The cauldron was situated in the Tuileries Gardens, just outside the Louvre Museum in central Paris. Marchand was initially set to be a flag bearer for the French team but was replaced by rugby gold medalist Antoine Dupont and Pauline Ferrand-Prevot. Click here to watch Marchand extinguishing the Olympic cauldron at the Paris Games closing ceremony.