Paris closes the Olympics, and Los Angeles turns to Tom Cruise for its 2028 mission

SAINT-DENIS, France — Setting out to prove that topping Paris isn’t mission impossible, Los Angeles rolled out a skydiving Tom Cruise, Grammy winner Billie Eilish and other stars on Sunday as it took over Olympic hosting duties from the French capital, which closed out its 2024 Games just as they started — with joy and panache. Capping two and a half extraordinary weeks of Olympic sports and emotion, Paris’ boisterous, star-studded closing ceremony in France’s national stadium mixed unbridled celebration with a somber call for peace from International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach. Even Bach got the party bug, jokingly calling the Paris Games “Seine-sational” — a nod to the Seine River that, despite water quality concerns, staged Olympic triathlon and marathon swimming and the wacky and wonderful opening ceremony. On the stadium’s giant screens, Eilish, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, rapper Snoop Dogg — wearing pants with the Olympic rings after being a popular feature of the Paris Games — and Dr. Dre kept the party going in an prerecorded show from a California beach.