‘Embarrassment’ or ‘Best Part’: Tom Cruise Flies to Carry Olympic Flag at Closing Ceremony, Sparking a Stir

In an epic ceremonial end to the Paris Olympics, Hollywood icon Tom Cruise performed a jaw-dropping stunt that looked like it came straight out of the “Mission Impossible” saga. On August 11, Cruise transported the Olympic flag to its soon-to-be new hosting home country in a way only he knew how to pull off.

After a stellar performance of the American national anthem by award-winning musician H.E.R., it was time for Cruise to shine. Footage of the eye-catching moment shows the camera panning out as H.E.R. revved up the crowd with a rock ‘n roll rendition of the famous “Mission Impossible” theme song.

Spotlights swirled around the arena before landing on the man of the hour. Standing tall at the very top of the Stade de France roof, Cruise was seen gearing up to launch himself into the crowd.

Protectively strapped in with harness gear, the movie star leaped down to the ground where he was cheered on by countless excited fans.

Taking the time to greet, hug, smile at, take pictures, and shake hands with as many people as he could, Cruise worked his way through a buzzing crowd to get to the main stage.

Once there, he was graciously welcomed by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and gymnast superstar Simone Biles, who held onto the flag. Taking the object from Biles’ hands, Cruise raised it proudly above his head before attaching it to his motorcycle to ride away.

The video then showed Cruise gassing it out of the arena and onto the streets of Paris, where he passed by the Eiffel Tower—lit up to show the impressive structure in all its glory.

Cruise then navigated his motorcycle onto a huge plane, stopping the engine once he was safely on board. Making his intention of driving off with the flag clearer, Cruise said, “I’m on my way,” into a walkie-talkie, indicating that he was transporting the flag to a new destination.

As the plane started flying, Cruise changed out of the leather jacket and cream-colored shirt he was wearing into a black shirt, and black gloves and strapped a parachute bag on his back.

He finished his mission gear with clear protective glasses before the plane’s back door opened. Taking to the air like a duck takes to water, Cruise leaped out of the plane into the blue sky.

After landing safely on the ground, he took off on foot until he found himself in the heart of California—the Hollywood Hills. Once there, he took some gear out of a black bag that had been placed at the location and got to work revamping the famous white Hollywood sign.

After adorning the sign with colorful Olympic fabrics, Cruise handed off the Olympic flag to talented cyclist Kate Courtney, who rode off to the LA Memorial Coliseum with it. After this, the video then showed a pan-out of Cruise posing on the Hollywood sign

The camera zoomed out even further to show a bird’s-eye view after Cruise adorned the two Os with yellow and green fabric. Footage also showed that three Olympic rings had also been added to the top of the sign.

This video and a statement shared by the official site of The Olympic Games confirm that Cruise’s stunt was to mark the fact that the next Olympic Games (2028) will take place in the City of Angels.

The organization also published a tweet about it on their X account. They shared a picture of Cruise holding the flag with an amped-up expression on his face and accompanied it with a meme-worthy caption highlighting Cruise’s willingness to take on the mission.

Upon seeing the video and reading the details about Cruise’s awe-inspiring stunt—a feat that countless people could only dream of achieving—many took to social media with their opinions. Some, surprisingly, noted how unimpressed they were.

“The most embarrassing part of the Olympics is having Tom Cruise be part of closing ceremonies. He’s a has been […] Olympics used to be a family thing to watch not anymore. It is so embarrassing,” expressed a particularly heated Instagrammer.

Another echoed, “This was an embarrassment to the US with him as our ‘representative.’” “So ridiculous ugh,” added someone else. Jumping on the criticism bandwagon, a netizen asserted, “There’s always someone to ruin it.”

Commenting on a perceived mishap during Cruise’s stunt where he was seen pulling on a contraption that had been attached to his leg, a social media user pondered, “Did it seem like the thing [on] his leg was supposed to do something and failed?” Similarly, another asked, “What was he trying to pull out of the bag on his leg?”

On the other hand, some were in support of Tom Cruise and his performance. “Best part of the entire ceremony!” praised a fan. Another admirer penned, “Tom Cruise and the  saved the boring closing ceremonies.”

Nevertheless, whether people hated it or loved it, Cruise’s flag handover, which also saw cameos from four-time Olympic champ Michael Johnson and two-time Olympic medalist Jagger Eaton, was certainly one for the books, and won’t be forgotten any time soon.