Hollywood legend Tom Cruise jumped from the roof of the Stade de France tonight in a death-defying stunt during an extravagant handover ceremony in Paris. <br /><br />The 62-year-old was strapped into a harness, as he flung himself off a ledge in front of thousands of fans and Olympians for the grand finale of the summer Olympic closing ceremony.<br /><br />He took up his position as Paris 2024 organizer Tony Estanguet thanked everyone for 'playing their part' in the Games and US R 'n' B star H.E.R. sang and played the Stars And Stripes, American national anthem on her guitar.<br /><br />Once safely back on the ground, Cruise was handed the five-ringed Olympic flag by gymnast Simone Biles and the Mayor of LA which he loaded onto the back of a waiting motor-cycle.<br /><br />Dressed in his trademark Top Gun black leather jacket, the action star drove out of the arena standing up.<br /><br />The switch across the Atlantic kicked off with live performances from Californian natives Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish, and Snoop Dogg on Venice Beach. <br /><br />It came after a wacky show of artist performances, including a composer playing on a piano suspended in the air, a 'golden voyager' accompanied by dozens of dancers, and many acclaimed French musicians.<br /><br />The performances from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish, and Snoop Dogg offered a taste of what is to come at the 2028 Los Angeles Games as they performed to crowds at Venice Beach.<br /><br />After the Olympic flag was passed between several US Olympians, it arrived at the famous beach where the Red Hot Chili Peppers were playing their hit Can't Stop.<br /><br />The rock band then handed the stage to Eilish who delivered a sweet rendition of her new track Birds Of A Feather while dressed in an oversized T-shirt, shorts, and baseball cap.<br /><br />Snoop, who has popped up at various events across the Olympics, later entered the beach to perform his classic track Drop It Like It's Hot alongside US fellow rapper Dr Dre.<br /><br />The show-stopping ceremony earlier saw a 'golden bee-man' descend into the stadium, as well as a floating pianist and 'toilet roll mummies' dancing around, as the closing ceremony shaped up to be as strange as the start of the games. <br /><br />After the golden voyager was lowered to the stage from the roof, a cloaked individual presented them with a Greek flag, to represent the Game's ancient origin.<br /><br />The voyager was later joined on stage by some acrobats who were dressed as alien-like creatures who helped him discover the Olympic rings which were hoisted from the stadium floor.<br /><br />French pianist and opera singer Benjamin Bernheim then delivered a rendition of Hymn To Apollo as composer Alain Roche played on a piano while suspended in the air.<br /><br />After the performance athletes launched a 'pitch invasion' of the stage as the crowd was shown a film of the victories and failures during the Games.
