Thousands of athletes will parade down the Seine River to kick off the Paris 2024 Olympic Games .
Friday’s opening ceremony will be a production the likes of which the Olympics have never seen.
For the first time, the festivities will be held outside of a stadium. Rather than watching athletes march on a track, viewers from across the world will be able to marvel at the top athletes boating down the iconic Parisian waterway.
Snoop Dogg will carry the Olympic Torch as it makes its final stretch to Paris ahead of the 2024 Summer Games. The American rapper and NBC commentator for this year’s Olympic Games was selected to carry the torch through the streets of Saint-Denis ahead of the opening ceremony.
The Olympics is otherwise keeping the identity of the person who will light the cauldron on the night of the opening ceremony a secret, with less than a dozen people in the know. Other entertainers set to take the world stage are also under lock and key for now.
Keep reading for everything you need to know before you kick off your Friday with the 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony.
What time is the Olympics Opening Ceremony?
The Paris 2024 Olympics will kick off Friday with its opening ceremony. The ceremony will officially begin at 7:30 p.m. in Paris, but viewers stateside can watch at 1:30 p.m. ET / 10:30 a.m. PT. NBC will host a pre-show starting at 12:00 p.m. ET / 9:00 a.m. PT.
How long is the opening ceremony?
The opening ceremony is expected to last around 4.5 hours. NBC’s coverage will start ahead of the ceremony itself at 12:00 p.m. ET / 9:00 a.m. PT.
How can I watch?
This is the first opening ceremony where most spectators will not pay an admission fee to watch the festivities. There were 222,000 free tickets available to watch the parade from the upper banks of the Seine, with 104,000 additional paid tickets on the lower quays.
There will also be 80 giant screens lining the waterway for visitors and Parisians to watch the procession in real time.
How can I stream from home?
The opening ceremony will be presented live across NBC and Telemundo cable channels and available to stream on Peacock .
Olympics fans can also watch online at NBC.com or NBCOlympics.com and on the NBC or NBC Olympics apps. Select AMC and IMAX theaters will showcase the Olympics Opening Ceremony live.
Why is it historic this year?
For the first time ever, the Olympics Opening Ceremony will take place outside of a stadium. The Olympics team will transform the French capital into a theater of its own, as 100 boats carrying an estimated 10,500 athletes will make their way down the Seine River.
The Parade of Nations will start beneath the Austerlitz Bridge and will sail past Parisian landmarks, including the Notre-Dame, Pont-Neuf and the Louvre. The cruise will end near the base of the Eiffel Tower.
Who will host the opening ceremony?
The opening ceremony will be hosted by Mike Tirico. This will be the fourth time the American sportscaster will host NBC’s Olympic primetime coverage. Grammy Award winner and talk show host Kelly Clarkson and NFL Hall of Famer Peyton Manning will join Tirico for the Olympics Opening Ceremony coverage.
Maria Taylor of NBC Sports will be providing commentary from the U.S. Olympic team’s boat. Also, “The Today Show” hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb will report live from a bridge on the Seine.
The entertainers headlining the Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony have been kept tightly under wraps from NBC. But Celine Dion and Lady Gaga have been spotted in Paris just this week.
If true, this would be Dion’s first time performing since she announced she was suffering from her rare “one in a million” illness in 2019. Le Parisien, a French newspaper, reported that the French-Canadian Grammy Award winner will perform “L’Hymne à l’amour” by Édith Piaf at the Olympics.
Gaga, meanwhile, was seen in social media videos Monday waving to fans outside her car in Paris. TMZ and The Hollywood Reporter reported that Gaga is confirmed to be performing, but NBC is not confirming to media.
Thomas Jolly, a French theatre director and actor, has been tapped to artistic direct this year’s Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies.
In addition to the over 10,000 athletes participating in the parade, 3,000 dancers, artists and athletes will be featured throughout the duration of the Paris 2024 Olympics Opening and Closing ceremonies. The opening ceremony’s choreographer Maud Le Pladec promised that every bridge along the parade route will have dancers stationed atop it.
Who are Team USA’s flag bearers?
Coco Gauff, the 20-year-old tennis star and youngest woman to win the U.S. Open, will be Team USA’s female flag bearer.
Gauff will lead the U.S. delegation down the Seine River alongside three-time Olympian LeBron James.
“I never thought in a million years I would have the honor of carrying the American flag for Team USA in the Opening Ceremony,” Gauff said. “I could not be more proud to lead my teammates with LeBron as we showcase our dedication and passion on the biggest stage there is — at a moment where we can bring athletes and fans together from around the world.”
The post How to Watch the Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony appeared first on TheWrap .
Most Popular
Comments / 0