Tony Estanguet

Hollywood star Tom Cruise abseiled from the roof of the Stade de France as Paris said farewell on Sunday to an Olympics hailed as one of the most successful in history.

Cruise descended on a wire in front of 71,500 spectators, grabbed the Olympic flag and jumped on a motorbike, to the delight of athletes and fans.

French President Emmanuel Macron inaugurated the 33rd Olympic Games in Paris, with the Olympic flame being ignited at the end of an extensive relay by athlete Marie-José Perec and judoka Teddy Riner, who then lifted the flame into the sky with a balloon.

The Paris Olympics flame has been formally handed to French organizers in the all-marble stadium in Athens where the first modern Games were held in Athens in 1896.

Greek water polo player Ioannis Fountoulis, the last in a long line of torchbearers, used the flame to light a cauldron at the Panathenaic Stadium. From there, it was delivered to Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet.

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games flame will be lit on April 16, marking the countdown to the July 26-Aug. 11 event in the French capital, organisers said on Friday, confirming an earlier Reuters story.

The flame will be lit at Greece's ancient Olympia, the birthplace of the Games, and will remain in the country until its departure to France from Athens on April 27.

The Olympics Organizational Committee for Paris 2024 is considering putting electronic games in its program. The French capital is not yet officially announced as host, but it will be during the IOC session next month.