Over 10,000 athletes will sail down the Seine on Friday in what is poised to be most ambitious Olympic opening ceremony ever attempted.
The 2024 Olympics, which kick off this week in Paris, are intended to “revolutionize” the Games yet remain accessible to a broad audience.
To commemorate the official start of the Olympics, which were last held in Paris exactly a century ago, organizers have spent years orchestrating a dynamic, and distinctly French, affair.
Over a billion people around the world are expected to tune in. Here’s everything to know about the ceremony, which, if all goes to plan, will go down in Olympic history.
What time does the Olympics opening ceremony start?
The live NBC broadcast kicks off with a pre-show at noon ET Friday, and the ceremony itself begins at 7:30 p.m. Paris time, or 1:30 p.m. ET.
The prime-time encore telecast, which features additional content, will air later in the day for U.S. viewers, at 7:30 p.m. ET. The ceremony is expected to be over four hours.
Follow here for live coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
How can you watch the opening ceremony?
NBC will have 40 cameras capturing the action in Paris, and live coverage begins at noon ET. The ceremony will be broadcast on TV and streamed in digital format on NBC, Peacock and NBC Olympics. (NBC News shares a parent company with those entities, NBCUniversal).
A complete schedule of the events over the next two weeks can be found here.
What happens during the opening ceremony?
At the start of the ceremony, the French flag will be raised and the French national anthem will be played.
Next comes what is arguably the highlight of the ceremony: the Parade of Nations. Athletes representing 206 countries will make their ceremonial entrance into the Games. Historically, that involves marching into a stadium on foot, but this year, athletes will proceed by boat along the “main artery” of Paris, the Seine River.
“An opening ceremony has never been held outside of a stadium. There is no model; it’s absolute creation,” opening ceremony artistic director Thomas Jolly told The Associated Press.
Each national delegation will ride in a boat equipped with cameras that enable immersive access for viewers.
The ceremony will begin at the Austerlitz Bridge and travel just under 4 miles down the river, landing at the Trocadéro near the Eiffel Tower. Along the way, the athletes will pass the city’s most prominent icons, including the Louvre and the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral.
At the end of the route, the Olympic torch will be lit. French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to speak.
Several potential roadblocks, such as security and pollution concerns, have threatened to impede the extravagant opening ceremony. However, officials maintain that they are “more than ready” as they make their final preparations.
Who are the ceremony hosts? Who is performing?
NBC’s Mike Tirico will host the ceremony for the fourth time, alongside three-time Grammy-winning singer Kelly Clarkson and NFL Hall of Famer Peyton Manning.
Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb, hosts of NBC’s “TODAY,” will have an aerial view of the ceremony from a bridge on the Seine. Maria Taylor, a commentator for NBC Sports, will also be part of the hosting effort.
The official musical performers remain unconfirmed, but Céline Dion and Lady Gaga have both arrived in Paris, further fueling speculation that they may be among the headliners.
The French newspaper Le Parisien reported that Dion, who is Québécois and often sings in French, is rumored to perform “L’Hymne à l’amour,” by one of France’s most famous musicians, Édith Piaf. It would be Dion’s first live performance since she was diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome in 2022.
When will Team USA appear? Who are the flag bearers?
Because the U.S. will host the next Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028, Team USA is set to be the penultimate team down the river. France gets the honor of being the last boat for its home Olympics.
NBA legend LeBron James and U.S. Open tennis champion Coco Gauff are scheduled to bear the U.S. flag throughout the ceremony. Gauff, 20, will be the youngest athlete to ever carry the Stars and Stripes at an Olympic opening ceremony.
James is a three-time Olympic medalist, while Gauff will make her Olympic debut in Paris.