Tom Cruise rumoured to perform stunt at Olympics closing ceremony

With Tom Cruise widely predicted to engage in a death-defying stunt on the roof of the Stade de France, Sunday's Paris Olympics closing ceremony promises a memorable passing of the five rings flag to Los Angeles.

Two weeks after the unprecedented complexity of the opening ceremony along the River Seine, there are big expectations for the show to wrap up the Games.

The closing ceremony will be a much shorter affair and will take place, in more traditional fashion, at France's national stadium.

Artistic director Thomas Jolly has revealed it will combine "wonder" with "dystopia", suggesting some darker elements than the joyful and impertinent tone of the opening ceremony that drew a record audience of more than a billion worldwide.

Offering a sneak peak to journalists recently, Jolly said he saw the Games as a "fragile monument" and wanted to imagine what would happen if they "disappeared and someone was rebuilding them in a distant future".

One sequence features "travellers from another space-time who arrive on Earth and discover vestiges from the history of the Olympics", with acrobats restoring the famous five rings of the Games.

It will reportedly feature more than 100 dancers, circus artists and other performers, with the promise of aerial displays, giant sets and spectacular lighting.

Destination Hollywood

The opening ceremony featured some huge stars including Lady Gaga, Celine Dion and Aya Nakamura, and some big celebrities are also expected Sunday.

Cruise has been at several Olympic events and the most daredevil of Hollywood stars would be a natural connection between Paris and the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

(with newswires)

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