Billie Eilish, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snoop Dogg and HER were among those performing at the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris on Sunday.
Los Angeles-based artists were selected to help deliver LA28, when the Summer Olympics head to Los Angeles from June 14 to July 30 in 2028. The performances were a mix of pre-recorded renditions alongside live sets.
To kick off the concert, HER performed the American national anthem live from Paris. Dressed in white and strumming a guitar, HER performed the American national anthem against a backdrop of red, white and blue floodlights flashing across the Stade de France.
After the song ended, she continued playing the guitar as the cameras panned to the edge of the stadium, where Tom Cruise appeared and got down to the ground. Once on the ground, the actor shook hands with the athletes, including Simone Biles. Then he went to pick up the Olympic flag, tied it to the back of his motorcycle, and drove off.
The broadcast then cuts to pre-recorded footage. In the clip, Cruz tells someone “I’m on my way,” in a phone call before jumping out of a plane and parachuting into a field in Los Angeles, racing up a hill, changing clothes, and doing some quick work — attaching the Olympic logo to the Hollywood sign. Cruz is then joined by cyclist Kate Courtney, who represented the United States at the Tokyo 2020 Games. She carries the flag to the LA Memorial Coliseum as the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “By the Way” plays. Courtney hands the flag to four-time Olympic sprinter Michael Johnson, who is joined by others on the street as he carries the flag through Los Angeles. Jagger Eaton, the first Olympic medalist in skateboarding, then takes the flag and leads the assembled crowd down the final stretch to a California beach where more performances take place.
On the beach, the Red Hot Chili Peppers performed “Can’t Stop” before Billie Eilish, who also performed on the beach on a lifeguard observation deck, performed “Birds of a Feather” with Finneas. Then Snoop Dogg, who was working as a reporter during the Paris Games, appeared in his Team USA uniform to perform “Drop It Like It’s Hot” on the sand while a bikini-clad dancer performed. Later, he ran to a nearby stage where he collaborated with surprise guest Dr. Dre on “The Next Episode.”
The event was produced under the creative direction of Ben Winston, who said in a statement that the LA28 rendition would “capture the pulse of Los Angeles – which like the Olympics – is a place where people from all over the world come to chase their dreams.”
Earlier during the closing ceremony, Phoenix performed with surprise guests Air, Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig, and more artists.
The Paris Olympics opening ceremony featured a stunning performance by Lady Gaga, the viral hit Gojira, and Celine Dion's long-awaited return to the stage.
