Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony highlights
A giant plume of blue, white, and red smoke was sent high above a bridge over Seine River
July 27, 2024
The Olympics 2024 opening ceremony began in Paris on Friday on the Seine River, starting with the arrival of the Olympic flame and continuing with the feather-filled performance by singer Lady Gaga.
The ceremony included a starry cast of commentators, including the likes of Alex Cooper and Snoop Dogg, and competitors like Simone Biles, Sha’Carri Richardson, Katie Ledecky, and Coco Gauff.
A giant plume of blue, white, and red smoke was sent high above a bridge over the river as the ceremony started.
“We are super excited; it happens once in a lifetime,” 17-year-old Elise Boukorrass said before the event.
Additionally, the extravagant show started with the French soccer superstar Zinedine Zidane running across Paris to bring the flame from the Stade de France to the Seine, Vogue reported.
The procession continued as the American singer Lady Gaga cried, “Bonsoir, bienvenue en Paris!”
Surrounded by dancers wearing flamingo-pink pompoms, Lady Gaga's long-rumoured performance included Zizi Jeanmaire’s classic standard “Mon Truc En Plume".
Alongside, Jolly’s opening ceremony gave a sense of theatre as they used musical phrases from "The Phantom of the Opera", "Les Misérables", Georges Bizet’s "Carmen", and a thrilling set by the French heavy metal band Gojira at the Conciergerie.
It was followed by an amazing performance given by a French pianist, Alexandre Kantorow, of one of Ravel’s best-known pieces. As it was raining during the ceremony, the performance translated “Fountains” and “Playing Water.”
The ceremony concluded with the most-anticipated performance of Céline Dion from the Eiffel Tower. She was dressed in a shimmering beaded dress. Dion performed on “Hymne à L'Amour,” a song by Edith Piaf in the 1950s.
The Olympics started from July 26 (Friday) to August 11 (Sunday).
