Los Angeles brought in its most-known artists to celebrate the Olympic handover
USA fans weren’t impressed by the Paris Olympics closing ceremony – outside of the Los Angeles 2028 Games presentation that is.
The French portion of the event delivered many poignant moments, courtesy of choirs, an orchestra, and opera singers.
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USA fans loved the presentation of the Los Angeles 2028 Games during the Paris Olympics closing ceremonyCredit: Getty
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Snoop Dogg performed Drop It Like It’s Hot before Dr. Dre joined in for The Next Episode during the Olympic handoffCredit: Getty
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Red Hot Chili Peppers (pictured alongside Snoop and Dr. Dre) and Billie Eilish also performedCredit: Getty
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The LA 2028 bit started with Tom Cruise dropping off the roof at Stade de France in Paris to take the Olympic flag and transport it to the USCredit: AFP
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The US part heavily contrasted with the French portion of the ceremony, featuring many poignant performancesCredit: Getty
To that, America responded with Red Hot Chili Peppers stars showing off their ripped abs as well as Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre rapping alongside a twerking backup dancer on a California beach.
But US fans loved the tease of what’s to come in Los Angeles four years from now.
“Oh my God, that small part from the US at the end was 100,000 times more exciting than the rest of the whole closing ceremony. The USA absolutely smashed it,” one posted on X.
“America no gree for Paris to do any calm or weird artistic closing ceremony,” another added.
“Snoop Dogg, Dr Dre, Tom Cruise… US smashes it!” a third said.
“Love how #LA28 said, ‘F**k all that going to France for the closing ceremony business. Let’s just stay in the US and party on the beach!'” one wrote.
The US part of the closing ceremony started with Tom Cruise jumping off the Stade de France roof onto the stage to take the Olympic flag from Simone Biles and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
After driving away with the flag on a motorcycle, a pre-recorded footage of the Mission: Impossible star showed him parachute in California.
After landing by the Hollywood sign, Cruise turned the O letters of the Los Angeles landmark into Olympic rings.
He then handed off the flag to American athletes, including mountain biker Kate Courtney and skateboarder Jagger Eaton.
The action happened with the Red Hot Chili Peppers hit By The Way playing in the background.
As the montage ended, the Los Angeles rock band performed its other staple, Can’t Stop, on a stage set up on the sands of Venice Beach in Los Angeles, California.
Billie Eilish took over later on, singing Birds of a Feather accompanied by her brother Finneas from one of the lifeguard towers.
Finally, Snoop Dogg took over, wearing a USA coat over a matching shirt with Olympic rings on it.
California dream
America will officially be the next summer Olympic host when this year’s Paris games come to an end.
Los Angeles will become a three-time host city when it stages the games in July 2028, joining London and Paris in doing so.
The US has previously hosted four summer Olympics and eight overall.
The historic Coliseum and brand new SoFi Stadium will feature heavily in LA’s staging of it’s third Olympic Games in history.
He performed Drop It Like It’s Hot before Dr. Dre joined in for The Next Episode, ending the US portion of the ceremony.
On the other hand, the fans were not fond of Team USA’s fits for Katie Ledecky and Nick Mead, who hoisted the American flag during the parade of nations.
The two flag bearers sported oversized Ralph Lauren jackets that many thought looked like uniforms taken out of Nascar paddock.
Some also complained about NBC bothering Ledecky and Mead during the parade.
The two Olympians had mics on them and were interviewed by NBC’s Mike Tirico and Jimmy Fallon after coming onto the field.
Fallon even made a joke that irritated NBC viewers, asking Ledecky whether she would swim rather than take a flight back to the US.
