Yesterday, the Paris 2024 Olympic Closing Ceremony brought to an end the incredible rollercoaster of emotions and excitement we enjoyed over the last few weeks. The U.S. women’s gymnastics team with Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles provided high-flying entertainment and shocking medal drama.
And of course, our favorite hip-hop legend, Snoop Dogg, was seemingly everywhere you looked in Paris. But whether you’ve been closely following the Paris 2024 Olympics or not, there’s no escaping the fun fever dream of the Closing Ceremony.
History was made during this Closing Ceremony when the Olympic flag was passed from Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo is the first woman to serve as mayor of Paris. While Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass became the first Black woman mayor to ever receive an Olympic flag at a Closing Ceremony event.
While we knew that mega moviestar Tom Cruise would be involved in the Closing Ceremony in some way, we were not prepared for the full-on movie moment that actually occurred. After Cruise dramatically rappelled from the Stade de France roof, he received the Olympic flag from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and gymnastics G.O.A.T, Simone Biles. After the handoff, Cruise jumped on a waiting motorcycle to race through the streets of Paris to seemingly catch a plane to L.A.
Cruise then parachuted out of the plane to the tune of “By the Way” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The Olympic flag was placed safely in the hands of Olympic athletes like mountain biker, Kate Courtney, and track and field gold medalist, Michael Johnson, and skateboarder, Jagger Eaton. They then began the journey of bringing the flag through the streets of Los Angeles to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which is one of the future venues of the 2028 Olympic games, and finally to Long Beach (not Venice Beach as previously reported by some outlets.)
The Long Beach party was filmed on a previous day with iconic California rockstars, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, performing their famous hit, “Can’t Stop.” Plus, fan favorite Billie Eilish crooned “Birds of a Feather”. And of course, Snoop Dogg took to the stage to perform two of his biggest hits, “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and “Gin & Juice,” with a special guest appearance by the legendary Dr. Dre.
The L.A. beach party gave us a taste of all the fun to come at LA28. The crowds at both Long Beach and all around the world got excited for the upcoming 2028 Olympics In Los Angeles. The 2028 Olympic Games in L.A. promise brand-new competition categories like flag football, obstacle-course racing, and squash.
Plus, Los Angeles promises to have a car-free transportation plan in place by 2028. L.A. officials plan on achieving this ambitious plan by borrowing more than 3,000 buses and asking L.A. residents to work from home during the games in order to reduce our infamous L.A. traffic.
While many changes are ahead for L.A. during the road leading up to 2028, the excitement over the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics is palpable. You can start planning ahead now and keep an eye on LA28 ticket sales. Now we just have to patiently wait four more years for the L.A. Olympic excitement to continue.