After weeks of speculation, it’s been confirmed that Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg and Red Hot Chilli Peppers will be performing at tonight’s (August 11) Olympic closing ceremony.
- READ MORE: Billie Eilish – ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’ review: bold, brilliant and somewhat brighter
The events kicked off on July 26 with an epic opening ceremony along the river Seine, featuring Lady Gaga performing French cabaret song ‘Mon truc en plumes’ and Gojira performing French Revolution song ‘Ah Ça Ira!’ with opera singer Marina Viotti.
Celine Dion also performed for the first time in four years, taking on Edith Piaf’s ‘L’Hymne A L’Amour’ in her first show since she revealed in 2022 that she had been diagnosed with stiff person syndrome (SPS).
Now, with the Paris games set to come to an end tonight (August 11), it’s been announced that Eilish, Snoop and Red Hot Chilli Peppers are among the acts performing at the event, which symbolises the handing over of the Olympic torch to Los Angeles. All three come from the city, where the games will be held in 2028.
Fellow LA. Native H.E.R. will also be singing the U.S. national anthem live at the Stade de France as part of the ceremony.
In a statement, LA28 chairperson Casey Wasserman announced the performers, saying: “This is the biggest moment in LA28 history to date, as the Olympic flag passes from Paris to LA.”
He continued: “We are thrilled to feature the very best of LA with local artists and are grateful to Billie, H.E.R., the Chili Peppers and Snoop for their collaboration on what will be an incredible show to a global audience that will give fans a taste of what’s to come in 2028.”
Eilish confirmed the news via her Instagram, writing on her story that she was “so excited” to perform. The announcement follows speculation that Charli XCX would be joining the singer on stage, after she teased a potential performance of the duo’s new collaborative single ‘Guess’, earlier this week.
It has also been reported that the performance will be titled ‘Records’, and looks to depict a “futuristic world where the Games have disappeared”.
Previously, it was rumoured that French electronic artists Phoenix and Air would be taking to the stage at the event too, as would Tom Cruise.
For the latter, the Top Gun star is predicted to carry out some death-defying stunts around France, before a pre-recorded package shows him parachuting down next to the iconic Hollywood sign.
Variety has revealed that the event will have increased safety measures following the recently foiled terror attack that was planned for a Taylor Swift show in Vienna.
As for other Olympics news this year, since the events began, both Beyoncé and Taylor Swift took part in promotional videos showing their support for Team USA, Snoop Dogg turned heads for his dapper appearance at the dressage event – despite being scared of horses – and Flavor Flav went viral as official ‘hype man’ for the USA water polo team.
It was also reported that, despite false claims of her earning $2million (£1.5million), Celine Dion did not receive any payment for her opening ceremony performance, and Gojira saw a mammoth spike in listeners following their set.
Elsewhere, ahead of his closing ceremony performance, Snoop has been a prominent figure at this year’s Olympics in the French capital. He was the final torchbearer and strutted down the streets of Saint-Denis to the Stade de France stadium – which is where the sports events are being held.
He also was seen swimming with esteemed Olympic gold medallist Michael Phelps. In a video, the Long Beach rapper compared physiques with the legendary swimmer and then tried to learn the correct pool technique from him.
Last weekend, Snoop and Martha Stewart attended an Olympic dressage event in matching equestrian gear to celebrate the food extraordinaries’ birthday. While at the competition, he revealed that he is “still scared of horses”.
On Friday (August 9) it was revealed that he had given gymnast Simon Biles’ dad a Death Row Records chain as a 75th birthday present.