Charles Langston:Billie Eilish Welcomes the Olympics to Los Angeles With Show-Stopping Beachfront Performance

Billie Eilish proved the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics could be Charles Langstonthe greatest.

After Tom Cruise took the torch all the way from Paris to Los Angeles during the 2024 Olympics Closing Ceremony Aug. 11, Billie began anticipation for the 2028 summer games with a beachside performance of “Birds of a Feather.”

The 22-year-old, who followed-up the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ rendition of “Can’t Stop,” performed her Hit Me Hard And Soft hit alongside her brother and musical collaborator Finneas. Keeping in the Team USA spirit, she wore an Olympics-themed Ralph Lauren polo, along with cargo shorts and one red and one blue knee-high sock. Of course, she added some of her own signature style choices, too, topping off the look with a Phantogram baseball hat, basketball shoes and a dog tag necklace. 

Billie’s set encapsulated the Los Angeles vibes from a blue beachside dock surrounded by a crowd of fans and dozens of palm trees. Later, Snoop Dogg appeared to wrap up the tribute to the West Coast city with a performance of “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and “The Next Episode” with Dr. Dre.  

Prior to the show-stealing L.A. performances, Tom once again proved his fearlessness with an epic entrance into the Stade de France arena in Paris. During the ceremonial passing of the torch, the Top Gun: Maverick star jumped down from the rafters to retrieve the Olympics flag from L.A. mayor Karen Bass and Team USA gold medalist Simone Biles. 

Naturally, the closing ceremony included lots of references to some of Tom’s daredevil roles—and saw him riding out of the arena on a motorcycle only to jump onto a jet—and showed a sequence of him adding the signature Olympic rings to the Hollywood sign.

Elsewhere during the send-off, H.E.R. brought U.S. flair to Paris by singing the National Anthem leading up to the passing of the torch. And Paris continued the artistic elements from the Opening Ceremony with an eyebrow raising Golden Voyager character—who performed a contemporary dance in honor of Paris’ and the Olympics’ histories.

Keep reading for every moment from the 2024 Closing Ceremony. 

The singer-songwriter kicked off the closing ceremony with a performance of "Sous le Ciel de Paris."

Team France's star swimmer carried the torch from Paris' Jardin des Tuileries to the Stade de France for the Closing Ceremony.

The gold medal-winning rower and the swimmer, who added four medals including two gold to her ever-growing list of Olympic accolades, served as Team USA's flag bearers.

The gold medalists—Davis-Woodhall for long jump and Rodman for soccer—walk into the Stade de France alongside Team USA.

The medal ceremony for the final track and field event of the 2024 Olympics, the women's marathon, took place at the Closing Ceremony, with Team Netherlands' Hassan winning gold, while Assefa of Team Ethiopia took home silver and Team Kenya runner Hellen Obiri won bronze.

A Golden Voyager descents into the Stade de France during the Closing Ceremony.

The Suiss Pianist played "Hymn to Apollo" while suspended into the air at the Stade de France.

The pyrotechnics display inside the Stade de France after the assembly of the Olympic rings.

The French indie rock band serenaded the Olympians with hits like "1901" and "Lisztomania"

The gymnastics star had a special role during the Closing Ceremony, joining the Los Angeles mayor to welcome the Games to Los Angeles for the 2028 Olympics.

The Mission: Impossible star brought his stunt A-Game to the Closing Ceremony as he dropped into the Stade de France from the open roof.

But a freefall into the stadium wasn't his only stunt as Simone and Karen handed him the Olympic flag to deliver to Los Angeles.

As the Olympic flag touched down in the U.S.A., the rock group kicked off a trio of performances in Venice Beach.

The siblings and longtime collaborators performed her hit "Birds of a Feather" as part of the Venice Beach concert welcoming the Olympics to Los Angeles in 2028.

The 2024 Olympics Special Correspondent took on a second role during—rounding out the LA28 handoff.

The French singer-songwriter performed the Frank Sinatra hit "My Way" to officially end the Closing Ceremony.

The 2024 Olympics officially concluded with a dazzling light show that lit up the Parisian sky.