For months before the 2024 Summer Olympics, there had been questions surrounding Paris’ ability to hold such a massive event. The city’s residents had threatened to defecate in the Seine River — the site of the opening ceremony — in protest of its highly polluted waters. As the opening presentation neared, things didn’t exactly get better. Just this morning, France’s high-speed rail trains were a target of arson, and thunderstorms cast clouds over the city. Yet, when the opener finally commenced, audiences were transported through a whimsical and engaging four-hour showcase that presented the best of Paris’ glorious architecture and music while welcoming top athletes from across the globe to the French capital.
The ceremony launched with French soccer legend Zinedine Zidane jogging through the streets, carrying the lighted torch down into the Paris Metro and emerging on the Seine via sailboat in a gorgeous explosion of blue, white and red hovering above the river.
For the first time in modern history, the ceremony took place outside a stadium. As the journey of the torch commenced, audiences witnessed French President Emmanuel Macron and International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach embracing and waving at the crowds. Afterward, 85 boats carrying 205 Olympic teams arrived in (mostly) alphabetical order. They waved flags and cheered while wearing rain ponchos as their boats glided toward the Eiffel Tower.
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Thankfully, ceremony director Thomas Jolly broke up the monotony of the two-and-a-half-hour boat processional. Jolly paid homage to the culture of France with performances that were the highlight of the evening. The entertainment kicked off as Lady Gaga paid tribute to French icon Zizi Jeanmaire. Dressed in black and surrounded by dazzling pink feathers, she gave a high-energy performance of “Mon Truc en Plumes.” Varied dance and musical presentations followed Gaga’s performance. There was an excellent Marie Antoinette-themed “Les Miz” remix by metal band Gojira and opera singer Marina Viotti, at the Conciergerie along the Seine. Later, draped in gold, R&B singer Aya Nakamura performed her hit song “Pookie.”
There were a few snags. Peacock announcers Kelly Clarkson, Peyton Manning and Mike Tirico added quips and commentary about the delegations and performances, but beyond offering context and identifying figures on screen, their chatter was mostly dull and unneeded, taking away from the majestic nature of the event. The only other rough patch came when the “Despicable Me” Minions took over the celebration. Though Pierre Coffin, the creator and voice actor of the Minions, is French, the video was both odd and off-putting.
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Since Team USA and its 594 competitors were one of the last delegations to join the parade, Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Snoop Dogg and Maria Taylor ably made small talk with Olympians like basketball star Steph Curry, who is experiencing his first and likely only Olympics. These segments moved well, despite the overall length of the ceremony. The commentators also chatted with Team USA flagbearers, basketball icon LeBron James and tennis champion Coco Gauff, who, at 20, is the youngest flagbearer in history.
All in all, it was a beautiful celebration, with a special nod to female historical figures in the City of Love. A masked figure clothed in medieval garb held the lighted silver torch, scaling buildings and using a zip line to get across the city. They made a pit stop at places like LVMH (an Olympics sponsor) to show off Louis Vuitton’s signature trunk and brought the paintings of the Louvre to life — if only all product placement were always this elegant. Movingly, the bells at Notre Dame rang for the first time since a fire in 2019 destroyed a large part of the church.
Though the rain picked up as night fell in Paris, the athletes’ and the crowd’s exuberance never wavered. As the boat parade concluded, the Eiffel Tower was in full glittering sparkle. The lights on the tower were dimmed as the Olympics staple “Imagine” by John Lennon was performed, sung by Juliette Armanet with Sofiane Pamart playing piano. Shortly after that, a silver-clad figure carrying the Olympic flag arrived on (mechanical) horseback, galloping down the river as the flag protocol commenced inside the temporary stadium set up on the Trocadero.
While lengthy, the extravaganza concluded with a slew of speeches from Tony Estanguet, the President of Paris 2024 and IOC President Bach, after which Macron officially opening the games.
But the ceremony’s conclusion was its crowning jewel, and ended with a twist. Zidane passed the torch to Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal, who rode in the boat back down the Seine with international Olympians Serena Williams, Carl Lewis and Nadia Comăneci.
The foursome handed the torch off to French tennis legend Amélie Mauresmo, who ran the with it through the streets and into the Louvre, where she handed the torch to basketball icon Tony Parker, and a slew of other French athletes who came together to light the hot air balloon Olympic cauldron. As the flames rose on the cauldron, the balloon lifted, and the cameras switched to reveal a diamond-cloaked, emotional Celine Dion, singing Edith Piaf’s “Hymne A L’Amour” from the Eiffel Tower.
To end with Dion, performing for the first time since her diagnosis with Stiff Person Syndrome in December 2022, felt life-affirming. Though France was at the helm, this was truly a global event. It was a welcoming and refreshing return for the Olympics, which had been pummeled in 2021 and 2022 by the coronavirus pandemic. Now, it seems the games are ready to move forward. Despite the chaos of the world, the opening ceremony was a heartfelt example of inclusivity and joy.
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The Paris Olympic Games run 26th July to 11th August, followed by the Paralympic Games: 28th August to 8th September.
The competition will air on the Nine Network and on-demand across its 9Now streaming platform. Stan Sport will also broadcast all 329 Olympic events across 32 sports, ad-free.