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The 2024 Summer Olympics are nearly here, and they are sure to kick off with a bang.
Set in and around Paris, the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad will feature plenty of star athletes and exciting new sports, but all eyes are sure to be on the opening ceremony, which will take place on the iconic River Seine on Friday, July 26.
To introduce the thousands of competitors, the national delegations will send their athletes in boats across the river, in the first-ever opening ceremony to take place outside a stadium. The event has garnered nearly as much attention as the Games themselves, and it is sure to raise the bar for Olympics to come.
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Ahead, we break down everything you need to know about the 2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony—including how to watch it.
The ceremony will take place on the Seine River.
The Paris Olympics opening ceremony is sure to be a gorgeous spectacle, as it is taking place on the legendary Seine River, which flows through the French capital and into the English Channel.
This is the first time in history an opening ceremony is taking place outside a stadium, and it is a move that honors the City of Light and the waterway that runs through it.
Because of its unique setting, the Paris opening ceremony will also be the biggest in the history of the Games, with a setup that allows anyone to walk up to the river and view the display (although those streets are sure to be packed).
Each national committee will have a boat that floats across the nearly four-mile route, beginning at the Austerlitz Bridge and reaching their finish at the Trocadéro, across from the Eiffel Tower, home to the Trocadéro Palace. This final site will host a series of performances and more on Friday.
The Seine received a major cleanup prior to the ceremony … but not without some controversy.
Besides the river parade, the Seine will also serve as the venue for a few swimming events during the Olympics, including the swimming leg of the triathlon and the marathon swimming. To ensure this could happen, a major cleanup project took place—a project eight years in the making.
For a century, swimming in the river has been forbidden due to traces of bacteria like E. coli and enterococci. The city spent $1.5 billion to clean up the Seine, in an effort that has been mostly successful, but will be tricky to maintain, given the open nature of the river and the drainage that can pour in from sewage in the city.
The decision to hold events in the Seine has been controversial, as some studies found traces of bacteria in the supposedly newly clean water earlier this month. (Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip in the river a couple of weeks ago in an attempt to prove it is safe to swim in.)
All this said, if rainstorms bring runoff into the river during the Games, the swimming events will be moved indoors.
Coco Gauff and LeBron James will be the flag bearers for the United States.
A whopping 10,500 athletes are set to sail across the Seine, and the two representatives for Team USA are American tennis champion Coco Gauff and NBA star LeBron James.
Gauff will be the first American tennis player ever to be a flag bearer for the country at the Parade of Nations. James, who was announced as the male representative for Team USA on July 22, is also making history as the first American basketball player to carry the Stars and Stripes at the opening ceremony.
In response to the major honor, Gauff told the Today show, “I was completely shocked. [It] never would have crossed my mind. I have no words, honestly. It made me cry yesterday. I didn’t want to cry in front of my teammates … but when I called my mom, I started crying, because I think it’s even more special that so many incredible people—even now I get emotional thinking about it—but so many incredible people just think that I am worthy of this. It means a lot, truly.”
For his part, James said: “It’s an incredible honor to represent the United States on this global stage, especially in a moment that can bring the whole world together. For a kid from Akron, this responsibility means everything to not only myself, but to my family, all the kids in my hometown, my teammates, fellow Olympians, and so many people across the country with big aspirations. Sports have the power to bring us all together, and I’m proud to be a part of this important moment.”
Lady Gaga and Celine Dion will perform a duet.
With a spectacle involving the Seine and the first-ever outdoor ceremony, you can bet the International Olympic Committee wasn’t going to skimp when it came to the entertainment.
For the first time since her December 2022 diagnosis with stiff-person syndrome, Celine Dion will take the stage for a blowout performance. Lady Gaga will reportedly join Dion for a duet of French singing legend Édith Piaf’s iconic “La Vie en Rose.” French-Malian R&B star Aya Nakamura is also rumored to be performing at the ceremony.
You can stream the ceremony on NBC and Peacock.
The opening ceremony will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Paris (1:30 p.m. EDT in the States) on July 26, and the Games will run through August 11. (Three sports did start two days early, on July 24: handball, soccer, and rugby.)
NBC and its streaming service Peacock will be the main platforms offering coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympics in the United States. If you’re watching on broadcast or cable TV, NBC will air at least nine hours of daytime coverage, including live finals coverage for major events like gymnastics, swimming, and more. Peacock, of course, will be where you can watch Olympic events on demand.
Joel is the editorial and social media assistant for HarpersBAZAAR.com, where he covers all things celebrity news. When he steps away from the keyboard, you can likely find him singing off-key at concerts, scavenging thrift stores for loud wardrobe staples, or perusing bookstores for the next great gay romance novel.
