2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony: All the performances
Lady Gaga, Celine Dion and more delivered epic performances during the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony Friday.
Gaga kicked off the performances at the opening ceremony with a spectacular rendition of Zizi Jeanmaire's "Mon truc en plumes."
The singer delivered her performance along the Seine, where the opening ceremony is being held for the first time. In previous years, the opening ceremony has always been held in a stadium.
The performance featured dancers outfitted in black, holding pink feathers and performing a choreographed routine around Gaga, along with a band.
Following her performance, Gaga shared a note on Instagram about how "completely grateful" she was to perform at the opening ceremony.
She noted that she was "humbled" to perform "a song to honor the French people and their tremendous history of art, music, and theatre."
She continued, "Although I am not a French artist, I have always felt a very special connection with French people and singing French music -- I wanted nothing more than to create a performance that would warm the heart of France, celebrate French art and music, and on such a momentous occasion remind everyone of one of the most magical cities on earth -- Paris."
"To everyone in France, thank you so much for welcoming me to your country to sing in honor of you -- it's a gift I'll never forget!" she added.
Dion closed the ceremony with a powerful performance of Edith Piaf’s famous song “Hymne á l’amour” at the Eiffel Tower after the Olympic Games were officially opened and the Olympic cauldron was lit in the Tuileries Garden.
It marked her first live performance since she announced her stiff-person syndrome diagnosis in December 2022. Following her diagnosis, the singer postponed -- and later canceled -- remaining dates on her Courage World Tour for 2023 and 2024.
Athletes gathered on boats for each national delegation and traveled down the river through the City of Lights. The parade came to an end in front of the Trocadéro, which offered a spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower.
Along with Gaga and Dion, French Malian singer Aya Nakamura delivered a performance of her songs "Pookie" and "Djadja." The orchestra of the French Republican Guard also performed Charles Aznavour's "For Me Formidable" and "La Bohème."
Another highlight included a group of 80 performers from the Moulin Rouge who performed the can-can. They were outfitted in pink costumes made for the opening ceremony, according to the Olympics X account. French heavy metal band Gojira and opera singer Marina Viotti also delivered an electrifying performance.
French mezzo-soprano Axelle Saint-Cirel sang the French national anthem while standing on the roof of the Grand Palais.
After all delegations were presented during the Parade of Nations, Juliette Armanet sang “Imagine” by John Lennon. Sofian Pamart accompanied Armanet on the piano.
LeBron James and Coco Gauff served as the Olympic flag-bearers for Team USA during the Parade of Nations.
The Paris Olympics come three years after the 2020 Olympics were held in Tokyo following a yearlong delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
