How to watch the 2024 Olympics opening ceremony

Sports

The show will bring together thousands of athletes, dancers and artists.

By the Associated Press, Associated Press

July 26, 2024 | 9:58 a.m.

The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics is scheduled for Friday.

Instead of a traditional march to a stadium, about 6,800 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats down the Seine for 6 kilometers. This will mark the beginning of the ceremony, not its end, another break with tradition.

The ceremony begins at 1:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. CEST and is expected to last more than three hours.

The procession will start from the Pont d’Austerlitz, next to the Jardin des Plantes, and will follow the course of the Seine from east to west. It will skirt two islands in the city center before passing under several bridges and gates. Athletes aboard the boats will be able to see several Olympic sites including the Parc Urbain de la Concorde (3X3 basketball, breaking, BMX freestyle cycling, skateboarding), Les Invalides (archery, athletics – marathon finish, road cycling – time trial start) and the Grand Palais (fencing, taekwondo). The procession will end at the Pont d’Iéna, which connects the Eiffel Tower on the left bank of the Seine to the Trocadéro district on the right bank. The ceremony will end at the Trocadéro, where, among other ceremonies, French President Emmanuel Macron will deliver an opening speech.

The ceremony will air on NBC and stream on Peacock and NBC Olympic platforms — NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, the NBC app, the NBC Olympics app.

A preview will air on NBC at noon EDT, with live coverage beginning at 1:30 p.m. and an enhanced primetime encore at 7:30 p.m.

Around 220,000 invited and security-screened spectators are expected on the upper banks of the Seine, with an additional 104,000 paying spectators watching from the lower banks and around the Place du Trocadéro.

Those who were unable to get tickets in Paris will be able to follow the ceremony on 80 giant screens installed throughout the city.

A major disruption to rail traffic plunged Paris into uncertainty just hours before the ceremony was due to begin.

There was no immediate indication that what one government official called a series of “arson attacks” near the runways could impact the departure.

In addition to the athletes who will participate in the parade, 3,000 dancers, performers and other athletes will be present at the opening and closing ceremonies. Most of the performances are being kept under wraps. NBC News reported that Celine Dion and Lady Gaga have arrived in Paris, while there is speculation that one or both of the pop singers will perform at the opening ceremony.

Light showers hit Paris on Friday morning and more are expected as the ceremony begins, so there is a good chance that spectators and athletes will get wet, as there is no roof over the Seine.

If it rains, the ceremony should go ahead as planned.