LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles, you are officially on the clock.
The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, officially closed on Sunday with the closing ceremonies at Stade de France and an Arizona Olympian helped deliver the Olympic flag to the next host city: Los Angeles.
The handoff of the Olympic flag began at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France, with Tony Estanguet, a former French Olympian and president of the Paris 2024 organizing committee, handing the flag to International Olympic committee president Thomas Bach.
Bach then handed the flag to Los Angles Mayor Karen Bass, who passed the flag to American gymnast (and seven-time gold medalist) Simone Biles.
Action star Tom Cruise then repelled into the stadium, taking the flag from Biles and putting it on a motorcycle, which Cruise then drove out of the stadium.
The presentation then switched to a pre-taped segment, showing Cruise taking the flag onto a plane, and bringing it to the Hollywood sign, which he decorated to make the O's look like the Olympic rings.
Cruise then handed the flag to mountain biker Kate Courtney, who is from Marin County, California.
Courtney then rode with the flag to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and handed the flag to four-time gold medalist Michael Johnson, who then ran through the streets of the city before handing the flag to Mesa, Arizona's own Jagger Eaton.
Eaton then rode with the flag to Venice Beach, which the where the broadcast re-transitioned to being live and showing a concert featuring the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre.
Eaton is a two-time Olympic medalist, winning a bronze medal in men's street skateboarding at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and a silver medal in the event at the Paris Games.
He was featured as he is one of the faces of American skateboarding. The sport was invented in California by surfers looking to recreate the feeling of riding waves when there weren't many waves to ride.
Social media reacts to Olympic flag delivery to Los Angeles
After the flag was delivered to Los Angeles, there was a lot of praise on social media for how it was done and who took part.
Former Arizona State University swimmer Léon Marchand, who swims for France and won four gold medals during the Paris Games, was also featured in the closing ceremony. He extinguished the Olympic cauldron and brought the flame from the Tuileries Gardens to Stade de France, where Bach blew out the flame.
The 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles will be held from July 14-30, 2028.
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to four major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events every year, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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