Tom Cruise is set to be a highlight of the Closing Ceremony at the Olympic Games by rappelling down the Stade de France with the official Olympic flag and landing on the stadium field.
The closing ceremony is set for Aug. 11, and Cruise’s participation will include him passing the flag to Los Angeles for the 2028 Games via a television broadcast.
That broadcast includes previously recorded film of Cruise skydiving down to the Hollywood sign!
News of the epic stunt was first revealed by TMZ, which reported the film will show Cruise, 62, on a plane from France to Los Angeles, before leaping onto the sign. The stunt, in which the star scaled the iconic landmark, was filmed in March, but nobody at the time knew what it was for.
PEOPLE added that the footage will then reveal Cruise passing the flag to other Olympians, including a volleyball player, a skateboarder and a cyclist.
A source told TMZ that the logistics are still being worked on, and Cruise may land up employing a stunt double for the rappelling task, but it was in fact Cruise who approached the International Olympic Committee with the idea.
A source told Deadline to “expect a major Hollywood production,” and that while it’s still unclear how Cruise will fit in to the entire picture, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass will receive the Olympic flag from Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.
Cruise is also no stranger to carrying an Olympic torch. He was among those honored with the task at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
Meanwhile, Cruise has been spotted at the Paris Games, most recently to cheer on the USA women’s gymnastics team at the qualifiers, and he still found time to attend the first day of the swimming competition.
The Top Gun star told Reuters of his Paris Olympic experience: “It’s awesome. Great stories, great athletes. It’s incredible what they have to do, the sense of accomplishment.”
Prior to heading to the Olympics, Cruise was seen squiring his new “gal pal” Victoria Canal, 25, around town, in his adoptive UK home.
After choppering her all around Britain, Tom Cruise then took Canal backstage at a Bruce Springsteen concert.
Cruise gave the actress and musician the VIP treatment as they snapped a backstage photo with the Boss himself, 74, during his Wembley Stadium gig.
Canal posted the pic on her Instagram page, writing: “i should promote my song (california sober) coming out at midnight but i’m too busy watching bruce with the most random friend i’ve ever made !
A source said: “Tom and Victoria are getting really close. He’s spent a fortune flying her around in his helicopter and is introducing to all his A-list pals.
“At the moment, they are introducing themselves as really good friends. He also really respects how she has used her disability in a positive way and not let it keep her back.”
Canal was born without a right forearm and hand due to a condition called amniotic band syndrome, but despite her “limb difference,” as she calls it, she can still play piano and guitar.