Experiencing the Paris Olympics opening ceremony the Parisian way
The Olympics are underway, and local Parisians are excited to welcome the world to their city with good friends, good food and an excellent view.
The 2024 Paris Olympics kicked off with an opening ceremony unlike any other, with athletes from more than 200 nations floating down the Seine River on boats. The city itself served as a magnificent backdrop as the parade of nations unfolded with iconic landmarks making appearances throughout the show.
Now, on the East Coast, NBC will re-air the opening ceremony in primetime. USA TODAY Sports will bring you live updates, highlights and more throughout the opening ceremony replay in primetime. Follow along.
Los Angeles will host the next Summer Olympics in 2028. Those games will be the ninth time the U.S. is hosting the Olympics, more than any other country, and Los Angeles joins London and Paris as the only cities to host the Summer Olympics three times.
U.S. Summer Olympics host years:
- 1904: St. Louis
- 1932: Los Angeles
- 1984: Los Angeles
- 1996: Atlanta
- 2028: Los Angeles
U.S. Winter Olympics host years:
- 1932: Lake Placid, New York
- 1960: Squaw Valley, California
- 1980: Lake Placid, New York
- 2002: Salt Lake City
- 2034: Salt Lake City
Paris Olympics action starts up again at 2:30 a.m. with Group Play in badminton mixed doubles, women’s and men’s singles, and women’s and men’s doubles.
The most-awarded artist in Grammy history introduced the 594 athletes – the largest delegation in the Paris Olympics – representing the U.S. in the Summer Games. Beyonce gave special shoutouts to sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, swimmers Katie Ledecky and Caleb Dressel, and gymnastics legend Simone Biles, among others.
The first medal events of the Paris Olympics are set for Saturday and start with shooting. The 10 meter Air Rifle Mixed Team bronze and gold medal matches start at 4:30 a.m. ET.
Saturday will also feature medal events in diving, individual time trial road cycling, judo, skateboarding, rugby sevens, fencing, and swimming.
LeBron James and Coco Gauff made history as Team USA’s first men’s basketball player and first tennis player, respectively, to serve as flag bearers. Gauff, making her Olympic debut, posted on social media just how excited she was to be in Paris.
The Paris Olympics will be the first for many young stars on Team USA like women’s sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson. One of the older Olympians making their debut is 36-year-old two-time NBA MVP Steph Curry. The Golden State Warriors star is suiting up for Team USA men’s basketball for the first time and reuniting with former teammate Kevin Durant.
Team USA’s top men’s sprinter Noah Lyles is a favorite in the 100 and 200 meters in the Paris Olympics. During the Olympic trials, he raced with Yu-Gi-Oh cards in one of the more viral moments from the trials. He’s making his mark in the Olympics with “ICON” painted on his nails and Peyton Manning complimented his attitude.
Team USA’s contingent of nearly 600 athletes is making the trek down the famed Seine, which will take the Olympians past the Trocadero, the Austerlitz Bridge and many other culturally rich locations before arriving near the Eiffel Tower.
French mezzosoprano Axelle Saint-Cirel, wearing the colors of the French flag and holding an enormous Tricolore, sang a stunning rendition of France’s national anthem, “La Marseillaise.”
Saint-Cirel’s singing would have been remarkable by itself, but the drama was elevated by the fact that she was on the very top of the Grand Palais the towering exhibition hall and museum along the Champs-Élysées.
The Minions, popular characters from the Despicable Me franchise, have blessed the opening ceremonies with a slapstick attempt at Olympic participation. The lesson? It turns out you can’t do a javelin competition in a submarine.
Why the Minions? Illumination Studios Paris is the animation studio responsible for the mischievous yellow…creatures, and its headquarters is located mere blocks away from the Seine River.
The opening ceremonies have cut away from Paris entirely, switching to shots from the other side of the world in Tahiti.
Why? The Surfing competition at the 2024 Paris Games will take place many thousands of miles away from Paris, with Tahiti (the main island in French Polynesia, a semi-autonomous region governed by France) making a beautiful setting that just so happens to have the big waves required.
Paris has played host for the Summer Olympics twice, in 1900 and 1924.
As a country, France has hosted six Olympic Games (three summer, three winter). They will host the 2030 Winter Olympics as well, with the competition spread throughout the French Alps.
The remarkable musical portion of the opening ceremonies continued with a Marie Antoinette-inspired performance from metal band Gojira.
As the Olympians floated by the Conciergerie on the Seine, Gojira took the celebration of this 33rd Olympics into a unique place. Following up a song from the famous musical Les Miserables, Gojira’s segment involved a beheaded and singing Marie Antoinette, punishing guitar riffs, flamethrowers, and fireworks.
The opening ceremony made multiple references to Assassin’s Creed, one of the most successful video game franchises in the world. The franchise has sold more than 200 million copies since November 2007 and is developed by French publisher Ubisoft.
Paris Olympics action starts up again at 2:30 a.m. with Group Play in badminton mixed doubles, women’s and men’s singles, and women’s and men’s doubles.
‘Crazy idea’: How Paris secured its Olympics opening ceremony
The Oscar- and Grammy-award winning musician led a performance of French musician Zizi Jeanmaire’s iconic song along the Seine River.
There are 206 total countries, including the Refugee Olympic Team.
The Paris Olympics are the 33rd edition of the modern Summer Games. There have been 24 Winter Games events, most recently in Beijing in 2022, bringing the total to 55 combined Olympic Games.
NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning and Kelly Clarkson joined Olympics host Mike Tirico for NBC’s broadcast for the opening ceremony. Their debut was met with mixed response, including from social media.
‘A lot to be desired’: Peyton Manning, Kelly Clarkson should have been benched as opening ceremony co-hosts
Greece – considered the birthplace of the Olympic Games – has gone first in the Parade of Nations since 1928.
According to Olympic officials, 320,000 spectators are spread out in 124 grandstands along the river.
Team USA athletes have already started competition, beginning with rugby sevens on Wednesday with a 12-12 tie against host France.
Team USA is back in action after the opening ceremony starting with mixed doubles competition in badminton. Americans Vinson Chiu and Jennie Gai take on China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping starting at 2:30 a.m. ET.
The Paris Olympics marks the first opening ceremony to be held outside of a stadium. Thousands of athletes are riding on 85 boats for the ceremony.
The Oscar-winning director started off the broadcast with a montage of incredible moments and tributes to the host city, Paris.
Paris Olympics opening ceremony in primetime
NBC will replay the opening ceremony in primetime on the East Coast, starting at 7:30 p.m.
Paris Olympics 2024: How to watch the Summer Games across TV and streaming
Every event at the 2024 Paris Olympics will be aired live across NBC, USA Network, E!, CNBC, GOLF Channel, and there will be a Spanish broadcast on Universo and Telemundo. All events will be available to stream live on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com.
Date: July 24-Aug. 11
TV: Games broadcast across NBC, USA Network, E!, Telemundo, Universo, CNBC and Golf Channel
Streaming: Peacock, nbcolympics.com, fuboTV
How to watch: Catch all the 2024 Paris Olympic Games action with a subscription to Peacock
Team USA selected four-time Olympian LeBron James as the male flag bearer for the opening ceremony. He is the first men’s basketball player to serve as a flag bearer and the third basketball player overall after women’s basketball team members Sue Bird (2020) and Dawn Staley (2004).
Three years after missing the Olympic Games in Tokyo because of a positive COVID-19 test, tennis star Coco Gauff is the female flag bearer for Team USA. She’s the first tennis player to have that honor.
The opening ceremony for the Paris Olympic Games will be held in downtown Paris on the Seine river. The parade of nations will bring athletes down the river before stopping at Trocadéro Palace to finish off the ceremony.
The opening ceremony is scheduled for four hours of broadcast time, both live and in primetime coverage.
The 2024 Olympic Games began on July 24 and finish with the closing ceremony on Aug. 11. Check USA TODAY’s Olympics schedule for a daily event times and viewing options.
An estimated 10,500 athletes are competing in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games but not all of them will be in the Parade of Nations. Paris Olympics officials estimate 6,800 athletes are attending the ceremony.
Tuvalu is the smallest country by estimated population in the Parade of Nations. The Polynesian island nation has an estimated population of 11,312 people as of 2022 and has two athletes in the Paris Olympics: Karalo Maibuca (men’s 100 meters) and Temalini Manatoa (women’s 100 meters).
Pacific island nation Nauru is close behind with one athlete – men’s 100 meters athlete Winzar Kakiouea – and an estimated population of 12,668 as of 2022.
Monaco is the smallest country by size (0.8 square miles) and has six athletes in the Paris Olympics:
- Marie-Charlotte Gastaud, women’s 100 meters
- Marvin Gadeau, men’s +100 kg judo
- Quentin Antognelli, men’s single sculls rowing
- Théo Druenne, men’s 800-meter freestyle
- Lisa Pou, women’s 10 km open water swimming
- Yang Xiaoxon, women’s singles table tennis
There are 339 events across 32 different sports in this year’s Summer Games. Team USA is competing in 31 out of 32 sports; U.S. athletes are not competing in team handball.
The U.S. has the most athletes at the games with 592.
The Parade of Nations order is set alphabetically in the host nation’s language, hence why some countries are higher than expected. For example, Spain is earlier in the order than expected because the French word for Spain is Espagne.
Future host nations are at the end of the Parade of Nations as well. Australia will host the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane and the U.S. will host the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, so both countries are at the end of the parade ahead of this year’s host France.
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.