Two Australian champions had starring roles; canoeist Jessica Fox was inducted into the International Olympic Committee Athletes’ Commission, and swimmer Emma McKeon joined officials on stage as part of a special delegation of athletes from every continent.

The main show, created by the artistic director behind the opening ceremony, Thomas Jolly, was a Planet of the Apes-style pageant about future beings stumbling across relics of the Olympics, as we examined artefacts of the ancient games.

The show featured a gold-clad, insect-like figure descending from the sky, a pianist playing an instrument dangling midair with black streamers hanging behind him like a bat, and five giant gold rings suspended in the middle of the stadium.

It was surreal but spectacular, as lights and golden fireworks lit up the sky.

But the stadium erupted when Cruise landed on the edge of the stadium and high-fived athletes before he climbed on a motorbike and drove the Olympic flag through the stadium.

Cruise’s arrival triggered a Mission Impossible-style video from the Los Angeles organisers in which the actor climbs onto the Hollywood sign and hands the Olympic flag to mountain bike rider Kate Courtney, who races through the city’s monuments.

Four-time Olympic gold medal-winning runner Michael Johnson and skateboarder Jagger Eaton also feature before the flag is delivered to a Venice Beach concert featuring the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish, Dr Dre and the surprise mascot of the Paris Games, rapper Snoop Dogg, who sings Drop It Like It’s Hot.

What the city of Los Angeles lacks in beauty, it will make up for in star power.

The final song of the ceremony, My Way, sung by French songwriter Yseult, was a nod to the handover, too; the original French song by Claude Francois was rearranged for Frank Sinatra. Fireworks erupted over the stadium in a last gasp of splendour.

Paris will be remembered as among the most successful and beautiful Games of the modern era. It reignited global enthusiasm for the Olympic movement after an isolating and joyless experience at the COVID-compromised Tokyo.

As Estanguet said: “We wanted strong images; our competition venues will go down in the history of the Games. We wanted excitement; we got passion. Together, we have experienced Games like nothing the world has seen before.”

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