By his company, too.The four-time NBA MVP and tennis star Coco Gauff were the flag bearers for the U.S."For myself and Coco, for us to be able to represent our country," James said, "us being Black kids as well, represent our culture and repre …
PARIS - The opening ceremony for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics is underway Friday. Organizers say the show will last for about three hours, though if history is any guide that estimate is on the low side.
Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers – or 3.7 miles. This will start the ceremony, not mark the end of it, another break from tradition.
Celine Dion performs at Olympics amid stiff person syndrome
Celine Dion closed the opening ceremony on Friday after lighting of the Olympic cauldron, with a performance from the first stage of the Eiffel Tower, singing Edith Piaf’s "L’Hymne à l’amour."
Dion’s Olympics performance marks her return to performing after years. She was diagnosed with stiff person syndrome in late 2022, causing her to postpone a tour.
RELATED: Celine Dion performs at Olympics opening ceremony in Paris
Canadian singer Celine Dion performs on the Eiffel Tower as the conclusion of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on July 26, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
The rare neurological disorder causes rigid muscles and painful muscle spasms, which were affecting Dion’s ability to walk and sing. In June, at the premiere of the documentary "I Am: Celine Dion" she told The Associated Press that returning required therapy, "physically, mentally, emotionally, vocally."
Zidane, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams help with final torch relay
The final torch relay late in the ceremony involved retired soccer star Zinedine Zidane, who led France to the 1998 World Cup title, and several non-French stars, the Associated Press reported.
Zidane handed off to Rafael Nadal, a Spaniard who won 14 of his 22 Grand Slam tennis titles at the French Open. Then, on a boat along the Seine, Nadal gave the torch to Serena Williams, an American who collected three of her 23 major singles championships in Paris.
LeBron James and Coco Gauff are flag bearers for the U.S.
Even LeBron James was moved by his experience at the opening ceremony.
By his company, too.
The four-time NBA MVP and tennis star Coco Gauff were the flag bearers for the U.S.
"For myself and Coco, for us to be able to represent our country," James said, "us being Black kids as well, represent our culture and represent where we come from, it gives everybody so much hope where we come from, and that’s all we can ask for. We take it with the utmost responsibility and the utmost honor."
A general view as members of Team United States pass water jets after going through the water curtain under the Austerlitz Bridge (not pictured) on the River Seine during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on July 26, 2024 in Paris, …
James joined a large contingent of American athletes on a boat on the Seine River on a rainy night in Paris. With Gauff by his side — both clad in clear ponchos — James bobbed his head as he held the flag at the front of the boat.
"The rain can’t stop us," James said.
Gauff, the reigning U.S. Open champion, is set to make her Olympic debut at the Paris Games and will be the first tennis athlete to carry the U.S. flag. She and James were chosen by Team USA athletes.
"I mean, for me, the Olympics is a top priority. I would say equal to the Grand Slams. I wouldn’t put it above or below, just because I’ve never played before. This is my first time," Gauff said earlier this year. "Obviously, I always want to do well, try to get a medal."
Lady Gaga makes surprise appearance
Lady Gaga makes a surprise appearance at the opening ceremony, performing in French.
She wasn’t on the official guide distributed to media beforehand, but her participation was heavily rumored after she was spotted in Paris in the run-up to the ceremony.
The singer-actor will likely be spending a lot of time in Europe this summer. Venice Film Festival organizers announced this week that "Joker: Folie à Deux" would play in competition at the festival kicking of Aug. 28.
Pharrell Williams carries Olympic torch
French TV is showing Pharrell Williams carrying the Olympic flame atop the cathedral of Saint-Denis, on the northern outskirts of Paris.
The town of Saint-Denis has a long relationship with royalty — and it hasn’t always been kind. In all, 42 kings, 32 queens and 63 princes and princesses were buried over the centuries in its basilica — only to be dug up again during the French Revolution and tossed into mass graves.
Jill Biden attends opening ceremony, snaps her own photos
U.S. first lady Jill Biden took photos from a viewpoint as the opening ceremony began. Earlier Friday, she met with French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, at the Elysee palace. She also visited with some U.S. athletes after she got to Paris on Thursday.
Paris Olympics move forward with opening ceremony despite train network attack, weather concerns
The Paris Olympics are getting off to a rough start.
In addition to suspected acts of sabotage targeting France’s flagship high-speed rail network, the French captial had a dreary feel Friday amid cloudy skies and forecast rains hours before its ambitious opening ceremony.
Arsonists attacked France's high-speed rail network early Friday, setting fires that impacted train travel to Paris for some 800,000 people across Europe, including athletes heading to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, the Associated Press reported.
Targeting remote locations far from the capital, the Associated Press reported that the attacks sought to cut off rail routes into the city from all directions. The fires were predominantly set in pipes containing critical signaling cables for the system known as the TGV.
There were no reports of injuries. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said the damage would not affect the ceremony in which 7,000 Olympic athletes were due to sail down the Seine past iconic Parisian monuments such as Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Louvre Museum and the Musee d’Orsay.
On an important day for the country, with dozens of heads of state and government in town for the Olympic opening and a global audience topping 1 billion expected to tune in, authorities were scrambling to deal with widespread rail disruptions caused by what they described as coordinated overnight sabotage of high-speed train lines.
The train delays and drizzly weather underscored possible vulnerabilities of the host city’s bold decisions to break with Olympic traditions and stage an opening ceremony like no other.
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France's train network attacked before Olympics
Ahead of the Olympics opening ceremony, French high-speed rail network lines were reported to have been sabotaged, officials say. French officials condemned the attacks as "criminal actions," though they said there was no sign of a direct link to the Games, and prosecutors in Paris opened a national investigation saying the crimes could carry sentences of 15 to 20 years.
Here’s what to know about the 2024 Olympics opening ceremony:
When is the opening ceremony for the 2024 olympics?
The Olympics opening ceremony starts at 1:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. CEST on Friday, July 26, 2024.
It’s expected to last more than three hours as the parade follows the course of the Seine from east to west.
Where is the Olympics opening ceremony being held?
The parade starts at Paris’ Austerlitz Bridge beside the Jardin des Plantes and follows the Seine.
Athletes aboard the boats on the Seine in Paris will get glimpses of several Olympic venues including La Concorde Urban Park (3X3 basketball, breaking, BMX freestyle cycling, skateboarding), Invalides (archery, athletics — marathon finish, road cycling — time trial start) and the Grand Palais (fencing, taekwondo).
The parade ends at the Iena Bridge, which links the Eiffel Tower on the left bank of the Seine to the Trocadéro district on the right bank.
The ceremony’s finale is at the Trocadéro. There, among other ceremonial procedures, French President Emmanuel Macron will deliver opening remarks.
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Where to stream the Olympics
The ceremony will air on NBC and stream on Peacock and NBC Olympic platforms — NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, NBC app, NBC Olympics app.
A preview will air on NBC at noon EDT, with live coverage beginning at 1:30 p.m. and an enhanced prime-time encore at 7:30 p.m.
About 220,000 invited and security-screened spectators are expected to fill the upper tiers of the Seine's banks, and an additional 104,000 paying spectators will watch from the lower riverside and around the Trocadéro plaza.
Those in Paris who could not get tickets will be able to watch the ceremony on 80 giant screens set up throughout the city.
Will the French rail network attacks impact the ceremony?
A major disruption of train traffic plunged Paris into uncertainty only hours before the scheduled start of the ceremony.
There was no immediate indication that what a government official was calling a series of "criminal fires" near the tracks would impact the start, according to the Associated Press.
Snoop Dogg carries Olympic torch
US rapper Snoop Dogg holds the torch as part of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games Torch Relay, in Saint-Denis on July 26, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Stephane De Sakutin - Pool/Getty Images)
Snoop Dogg carried the Olympic torch on Friday morning ahead of the opening ceremony.
He was one of the final torch bearers of the Olympic flame, which was lit in April in Greece and slowly has journeyed toward Paris since. Snoop Dogg's leg was in Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris.
In an interview earlier this week, the multihyphenate expressed gratitude toward the U.S. and France for the opportunity.
"I look at this as a prestigious honor and something I truly respect. I would have never dreamed of nothing like this," he said. "I’m going to be on my best behavior. I’m going to be on my best athleticism. I’ll be able to breathe slow to walk fast and hold the torch with a smile on my face, because I realize how prestigious this event is."
Snoop Dogg is in Paris to help cover the Games for NBC, part of the U.S. broadcaster's bet to boost ratings by infusing coverage with pop culture.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. It was reported from Cincinnati.