Billie Eilish, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Snoop Dogg (of course) to bid the Olympics adieu

Paris gave themselves the Herculean task of somehow following up their insane floating opening ceremony—and those Celine Dion and Lady Gaga performances—and they’ve tapped Billie Eilish, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and new Olympic mascot Snoop Dogg to do it. The lineup was originally reported by Variety. 

If you’re wondering why these three not-so-Parisian artists were chosen, there is a very good reason. (And it’s not that they’re kinda sorta France-adjacent, like the equally non-French Gaga and Dion.) The three West Coast-based acts will actually be performing in a mix of live and pre-taped segments from Los Angeles, as a part of the games’ handoff to their 2028 host. Tom Cruise will hypothetically kick off this portion of the proceedings by performing some sort of death defying motorcycle stunt along the Champs-Élysées before the show queues up a pre-taped clip of the Mission Impossible actor performing yet another death defying stunt (skydiving this time) down to the Hollywood sign.

There may also be some surprise guests yet—well, one in particular. After potentially changing the face of American politics with brat summer, there’s a chance Charli xcx might ask the whole world to guess the color of her underwear. The pop star posted a little tease on Twitter/X last night in response to the lineup, with the caption “… you wanna guess ;),” a line from her popular brat remix with Eilish. That would be, frankly, a little insane, but we guess truly anything is possible during brat summer.

Other highlights of the upcoming closing ceremony, which has been mysteriously titled Records, will include more than 100 acrobats, dancers, and circus artists in a show that artistic designer Thomas Jolly describes as  “very visual,” “acrobatic,” and “operatic,” with a “great visual fresco.” “On 11 August 2024, the Olympic Games will be over, and the Olympic flame will be extinguished,” he added. “That moment will remind us just how precious these Olympic Games are—a unique monument to a shared experience—and therefore fragile.”