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2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony: Flying Olympic flame soars above Paris as Celine Dion wows crowds

The Opening Ceremony featured the best of France and celebrated Olympic legends from around the globe

The 2024 Paris Summer Olympics are officially open and the Opening Ceremony was a spectacular showing of the athletes from the 206 Olympic delegations and the city of Paris. Lady Gaga and Celine Dion headlined the musical performances and French sports icons like Zinedine Zidane, Amélie Mauresmo and Tony Parker and international Olympic legends — among them Serena Williams, Carl Lewis and Nadia Comăneci and Rafael Nadal — were a part of the last legs of the Olympic torch relay, which ended with a flying cauldron lit to soar above the City of Light.

While the Games have been officially opened, you can relive all of the best moments — or see them for the first time — right here with Yahoo Sports, as NBC Sports presents the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony in its entirety in prime time.

  • Time: 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT (replay)

  • Location: Paris, France

  • Channel: NBC

LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER103 updates
  • So, what next?

    Now that the Opening Ceremony is over, here's what to watch for on Saturday in the first full day of competition in Paris.

    PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 25: Katie Ledecky of Team United States trains during a Swimming Training Session ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Paris La Defense Arena on July 25, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
    Click the photo to read more about what's coming up on the first day of competition in Paris. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
  • Scenes from the Seine as the Opening Ceremony wows soaked crowds

    PARIS — It was a wild, wet day and night in Paris as the Opening Ceremonies got underway. Here's what things were like along the Seine before, during and after the day's events.

    More from Jay Busbee on the ground in Paris:

    PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 26: Spectators look on along the River Seine prior to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on July 26, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
    Click the photo to read more from Jay Busbee on the ground in Paris. (VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
  • Most memorable moments from the wet, wild and weird Opening Ceremony

    PARIS — There has never been an Olympic Games that put its host city on display quite like this.

    In an unprecedented Opening Ceremony, the 2024 Summer Games kicked off with a wave of pageantry that, well, moseyed its way down the Seine River, incorporating France's centuries-long history along a strange but oddly endearing four-hour show. It recognized historical figures (Louis XIV, Marie Antoinette, Napoleon), historical art (the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo), historical places (the Place de la Concorde, Notre Dame, the Louvre) and, of course, French fashion via a runway along a footbridge above the Seine.

    All the while, it rained, then poured, and yet the show went on.

    PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 26: Lights illuminate the Eiffel Tower during the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at on July 26, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Christian Liewig - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
    Click the photo to read more about the best moments from tonight's Opening Ceremony in Paris. (Christian Liewig - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
  • The torch is lit

    Marie-José Pérec and Teddy Riner had the honors of officially lighting the Olympic cauldron on Friday in Paris.

    The cauldron, with the Olympic flame lit, lifts off while attached to a balloon as the torchbearers French former sprinter Marie-Jose Perec and French judoka Teddy Riner stand in front during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Jardin des Tuileries (Tuileries Garden) in Paris on July 26, 2024. (Photo by Xia Yifang / POOL / AFP) (Photo by XIA YIFANG/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
    Click the photo to read more about the torch lighting in Paris on Friday night. (Xia Yifang/AFP)
  • Upside Down Olympic Flag

    Well, that wasn't right. Click the photo to read more about the brutal flag mistake at the Opening Ceremony.

    The Olympic flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Trocadero in Paris, in France. Picture date: Friday July 26, 2024. (Photo by Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)
    Click the photo to read more about the brutal flag mistake at the Opening Ceremony. (Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)
  • All of the performances from the Opening Ceremony

    From Celine Dion to Lady Gaga to Aya Nakamura, click the photo to read more about all of the performances from tonight's Opening Ceremony in Paris.

    PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 26: (EDITOR'S NOTE: This Handout screengrab was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images' editorial policy.) This handout released by the Olympic Broadcasting Services, shows a view of singer Celine Dion performing on the Eiffel Tower during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games Paris 2024 on July 26, 2024 in Paris, France. (Screengrab by IOC via Getty Images)
    Click the photo to read more about Celine Dion's performance at the Opening Ceremony. (IOC via Getty Images)
  • Celine Dion makes a triumphant return after rare sickness

  • The secret of the Paris 2024 logo

    PARIS — At first glance, the logo for the Paris Olympics appears straightforward enough: the silhouette of a flame against a gold background. But look a little closer, open your mind a touch, and a new image will take shape.

    Viewed from a slightly different perspective, the flickers of flame turn to locks of hair. The lips become visible. And what was a flame is now the image of a woman with the slightest hint of a smile. This is Marianne, an enduring symbol of France since the French Revolution.

    Click the photo for more on the Paris 2024 logo from Jay Busbee on the ground in France.

    A Paris 2024 banner logo at the Grand Palais, Paris. The Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games takes place on Friday 26th July, along the River Seine. Picture date: Tuesday July 23, 2024. (Photo by David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images)
    Click the photo for more from Jay Busbee on the ground in France. (David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images)
  • New Team USA hype video has dropped

    "Get a look at America, y'all."

  • LeBron Crossing the Delaware, by Emanuel Leutze, 1851

  • "The best of the United States of America!"

  • Coco Gauff and LeBron James out front

    Coco Gauff and "the GOAT" LeBron James are leading Team USA down the river.

  • Snoop Dogg at the Olympics

    Snoop Dogg made the rounds in Paris today, and even FaceTime'd Simone Biles with Hoda Kotb.

  • The Team USA boat is making its way down the river!

  • More Minions!

  • Peyton Manning on brand

    Peyton Manning, calling the Opening Ceremony with Mike Tirico and Kelly Clarkson, was extremely on brand wearing an armband. Instead of playcalls, maybe his cheat sheet had Olympic delegations?

    Kinda felt like an "SNL" skit

  • Just curious, did people in Paris get a helping of Minions like viewers watching on NBC did?

    Guessing no. Like a long commercial...

  • Giannis Antetokounmpo, Greece's flagbearer

    NBA MVP, Olympic flagbearer:

  • That gold glitters

    Change of musical pace from French metal band Gojira to French pop singer Aya Nakamura:

    Nakamura has five No. 1 songs in France. She claims to have taken her stage name from Hiro Nakamura from the TV series "Heroes," which ran on NBC from 2006-10.

  • Heavy metal during the Opening Ceremony!

    The answer to your question is Gojira! Who was that heavy metal band rocking out Les Miserables in a showcase of opera, fire, art and history?

  • Bells ringing at Notre Dame

    One of the best spectacles during the Opening Ceremony parade down the River Seine was getting a look at the work being done to restore the Cathedral of Notre Dame.

    As dancers performed along the Pont Notre-Dame, bells were rung at the Cathedral for the first time since 2019, when a massive fire destroyed the structure.

  • Lady Gaga, anyone?

    Yes! As rumored, Lady Gaga is indeed part of the Opening Ceremony with a French cabaret performance that suits Paris perfectly.

  • No stadium for the Paris Opening Ceremony

    The Paris Olympics are the first to feature the Opening Ceremony outside a stadium and in the host city, The parade of delegations traveling along the River Seine with many performances along the riverfront as the procession advances should provide a setting unlike any the Olympics have seen before.

  • King James and Coco Gauff represent for Team USA

  • Most memorable moments from the wet, wild and weird Opening Ceremony

    There has never been an Olympic Games that put its host city on display quite like this.

    In an unprecedented Opening Ceremony, the 2024 Summer Games kicked off with a wave of pageantry that, well, moseyed its way down the Seine River, incorporating France's centuries-long history along a strange but oddly endearing four-hour show. It recognized historical figures (Louis XIV, Marie Antoinette, Napoleon), historical art (the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo), historical places (the Place de la Concorde, Notre Dame, the Louvre) and, of course, French fashion via a runway along a footbridge above the Seine.

    All the while, it rained, then poured, and yet the show went on.

    Here are some of the most memorable moments (and one major gaffe) from the 2024 Opening Ceremony.

    An Orchestra performs at the Trocadéro during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Picture date: Friday July 26, 2024. (Photo by Joel Marklund/PA Images via Getty Images)
    An Orchestra performs at the Trocadéro during the Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (Photo by Joel Marklund/PA Images via Getty Images)
  • An incredible shot from Rafael Nadal's big moment during the Opening Ceremony

  • Check out Celine Dion's entire emotional return to the stage, on the Eiffel Tower at the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

  • Celine Dion makes her triumphant return in Paris

    Atop the Eiffel Tower (where else?), Celine Dion makes her return to performing after years of struggling with Stiff Person Syndrome. And she sounds as incredible as ever.

  • Olympic cauldron has been lit, and it is flying, attached to a hot air balloon

    After several more handoffs between French Olympic legends, the flame is now flying high above Paris in spectacular fashion. Marie-José Pérec and Teddy Riner had the honor.

    Yahoo Sports' Henry Bushnell is at the Opening Ceremony and has this breakdown of the spectacular flying cauldron:

    "Olympic organizers said in informational material distributed to media that the cauldron was “a tribute to the first flight in a hydrogen-filled gas balloon,” which took place in Paris in 1783. In December of that year, the hot-air balloon became the first human-carrying aircraft when two of its French inventors, physicist Jacques Charles and engineer Nicolas-Louis Robert, took flight from Tuileries Gardens."

  • Parker, Mauresmo joined by three French Paralympic legends

    The group is jogging the flame through Paris, led by three-time Olympic champion handball player Michael Guigou. Usually the flame is handed off, but the whole group continues to walk with the flame as it makes its way through the City of Light.

  • The Olympic Flame is back on land

    After Nadal and company took the flame for a boat ride, the French connections resumed with tennis great Amélie Mauresmo taking the flame through the Louvre and handed the flame off to NBA legend Tony Parker.

  • Where is the Olympic flame headed?

    Nadal left the Eiffel Tower with the flame and hopped on a boat, where he met Serena Williams, Carl Lewis and Nadia Comăneci, making the reverse commute from the earlier parade.

  • It's been a while since we've seen Zidane (nearly three and a half hours), but he's back with the torch, handing it off to ... Rafael Nadal?!

  • Did you get any work done today?

  • Olympic flag makes its way to the Eiffel Tower

    Flags of participating countries are carried on the Iena bridge during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. (Photo by Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP) (Photo by JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images)
    Flags of participating countries are carried on the Iena bridge during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. (Photo by Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP) (Photo by JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images)
  • Another uniform that was sadly missed on the broadcast comes from Guatemala. There are many national details in this one, with the athletes wearing blue shirts and blue shorts or a green dress with a little blue vest. The hats are also blue with a Guatemalan pattern on the underside of the brim. A step above the safari-style outfit, which is always a common theme among Olympic outfits from several countries.

  • With the parade of nations at an end, here are a few eye-catching uniforms that didn't get their moment to shine on the NBC broadcast.

    Czech Republic's uniforms are among the most admired. Bold colors and patterns, breathable fabric and design, and a jacket that goes with almost everything. Their athletes are well-dressed and comfortable.

  • Team France and their 571 athletes were wearing uniforms that included sleeveless blazers for the women. The French are known for their fashion, but those long sleeveless bl vests may not catch on in the United States.

  • The final three countries in the parade are Australia, Team USA and France, in that order. France finishes last as the host country; with the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles and the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, Australia, those countries are getting honored as future hosts.

  • Team USA's uniforms were designed by Ralph Lauren again, and these three women's soccer stars show exactly how they should be worn.

  • France makes its entry as the final delegation in the parade

  • Team USA has arrived

    Hope no one on Team USA is claustrophobic...that boat is jam-packed with American athletes!

  • Turkey is celebrating the 100th anniversary of their participation in the modern Olympics, and their uniforms pay tribute to their Olympic history. Though the red and white striped blazers for the men may be a divisive choice, because if you gave them little paper hats they'd look like they should be serving you ice cream from behind a cart.

  • Chinese Taipei, also known as Taiwan, may have the most stylish and forward-looking Opening Ceremony uniforms of all the countries. They're wearing double-breasted suits in a denim-like fabric, and there are patches of texture everywhere.

    These don't look like Olympic uniforms. Chinese Taipei brought FASHION to Paris.