Let the games begin!
The Paris 2024 Olympics kicked off in style on Friday with the opening ceremony. Despite arson attacks on the French railway network hours before the event and persistent rain throughout the day in Paris, the spectacle went on – and what a spectacle it was.
For the first time in history, the opening ceremony took place on water rather than inside a stadium. Thousands of athletes from hundreds of participating countries traveled down the Seine in boats for the Parade of Nations. The ceremony was followed by the lighting of the Olympic cauldron and an iconic performance by Celine Dion on the Eiffel Tower.
Here’s a full look back at some of the best moments from a memorable opening ceremony in the French capital:
Parade of Nations begins with French-themed plume of smoke
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As a plume of blue, white and red smoke in the colours of the French flag rose above the Pont d’Austerlitz, it provoked a huge cheer from the crowd gathered along the banks. Giant jets of water shot up from the river as the Greek delegation was, as always, the first to pass under the bridge and onto the 6km parade route.
Among the Greek athletes was two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who became the country’s first black flag bearer.
Lady Gaga sings in French for the first musical act of the ceremony
Watch Lady Gaga perform a snippet of “My Feather Thing” at the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony.
Lady Gaga was the first of two global superstars to deliver a surprise performance. The 13-time Grammy Award winner kicked off the event with a rendition of “Mon Truc En Plumes” along the Seine River in tribute to French singer, dancer and actress Zizi Jeanmaire.
After her performance, the New York native shared the “special connection” she feels with the French and music.
“I feel so grateful to have been invited to open the Paris 2024 Olympic Games this year,” Lady Gaga wrote on X. “I am also honored to have been invited by the Olympic Organizing Committee to sing such a special French song – a song to honor the French people and their incredible history of art, music and theater.
“Although I am not a French artist, I have always felt a very special connection with the French people and with French music. I wanted nothing more than to create a performance that would warm the hearts of France, celebrate French art and music and, on such a momentous occasion, remind everyone of one of the most magical cities on the planet: Paris.”
Masked torchbearers zipline across Paris rooftops
I watched a masked figure ziplining over Paris with the Olympic torch.
The Olympic flame was in the hands of a masked torchbearer for much of the ceremony. At one point, the mysterious figure zip-lined across the Seine to Notre Dame Cathedral.
The torchbearer’s costume is inspired by several masked characters who have marked French culture, including the Phantom of the Opera and Ezio from the “Assassin’s Creed” video game series. But their identities have never been revealed.
Coco Gauff and LeBron James lead Team USA in Parade of Nations
Watch Team USA on a boat on the Seine during the Paris Opening Ceremony.
The American team had a long wait before joining the parade of nations. As host of the 2028 Olympics, the United States was second to last among more than 200 countries, ahead of France, host of the 2024 Games.
When Team USA’s turn finally came, 2023 US Open winner Coco Gauff and four-time NBA champion LeBron James held the American flag together on a boat with nearly 600 American athletes.
At 20, Gauff became the youngest American flag bearer in Olympic history.
Epic light show on the Eiffel Tower
See the Eiffel Tower beautifully lit up for the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony.
Among the many highlights of the ceremony was a light show from the Eiffel Tower.
After French President Emmanuel Macron declared the Games open, the iconic landmark lit up the Parisian night in a dazzling spectacle.
Serena Williams, Carl Lewis and Rafael Nadal help carry the Olympic flame to the cauldron
The Olympic flame was passed to several sporting legends in the final moments of its months-long journey to the Olympic cauldron. At the Eiffel Tower, Zinedine Zidane passed the torch to Rafael Nadal, who then boarded a boat with Serena Williams, Carl Lewis and Nadia Comaneci.
The star-studded group carried the flame down the Seine and passed it to Amélie Mauresmo, back on land, for the French leg of the relay. Mauresmo, Tony Parker and several other French Olympians and Paralympians then traveled with the flame to the cauldron site in the Tuileries Gardens.
Olympic cauldron takes off after being lit
The cauldron in the Tuileries Garden is a tribute to the first hydrogen-powered balloon flight, which took place at the same location in 1783.
The mystery has finally been lifted regarding the identity of the two Frenchmen who will light the Olympic cauldron: they are Olympic athletes Teddy Riner and Marie-José Pérec. Pérec is a three-time Olympic sprint champion, while Riner holds three gold medals and five medals in total in judo.
Both Perec and Riner received the flame from Charles Coste, the oldest living French Olympic champion at 100. After the duo Perec and Riner lit the cauldron, the crown of flames surprisingly flew into the Paris sky via hot air balloon in a breathtaking moment.
The ring of flames is about 7 meters in diameter and the balloon is about 30 meters high. The flying cauldron is a nod to the first hydrogen-powered balloon flight that took off from the Tuileries Gardens in 1783.
According to Paris 2024, the cauldron will remain suspended nearly 60 meters in the air from sunset until 2 a.m. Paris time each day for the duration of the Games. The cauldron will be positioned on the ground and will be visible from nearly 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Who is the French athletics legend who lit the Olympic flame?
Celine Dion closes the ceremony with an iconic return
Celine Dion performs on the Eiffel Tower during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games.
Like Lady Gaga, Celine Dion was also reportedly part of the opening ceremony lineup. But that didn’t take anything away from her performance.
After lighting the Olympic cauldron, Celine Dion performed Edith Piaf’s hymn to love from the Eiffel Tower. It was the legendary French-Canadian singer’s first live performance since 2020, due to stiff-person syndrome.
Three-time Grammy winner Kelly Clarkson, who appeared on the NBC broadcast, was among those moved by Dion’s triumphant return to the stage.
“If you know anything about what she’s going through right now… I’m so sorry, I’m trying to pull myself together. But that she made it through this [performance] “It was incredible,” Clarkson said, overcome with emotion. “And in my field, she’s the gold winner of vocal athletes. She’s incredible.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
