Paris Olympics: The spectacular opening ceremony as it happened, minute-by-minute (2024)

27/07 at 12:03 AM (Paris)

Thanks a lot for following the ceremony with us

Make sure you follow us, and subscribe to Le Monde in English, for our analysis of this one-of-a-kind ceremony and all our coverage of the rest of the competition.

The City of Light lit up tonight, and will continue to throughout the rest of the Games: the Cauldron will float above the city at the Tuileries for the remainder of the Olympics.

Thank you, and good night!

27/07 at 12:00 AM (Paris)

Rain didn't stop this fête

We were promised a party, and I think it's safe to say we got one. It all started with an explosive beginning in blue, white and red as smoke resembling the French flag dispersed from the Pont d'Austerlitz. After that was a dizzying array of singers, dancers, and performers representing the best in French culture and history and beyond.

Eighty Moulin Rouge dancers, a mélange à trois, a headless Marie Antoinette heavy metal star, Aya Nakamura, and, of course, the almost 100 boats on which some six to seven thousand athletes sailed down the River Seine: The first Olympics opening ceremony to take place outside of a stadium was certainly a memorable one.

While we didn't find out who was the mysterious torchbearer, we did get to see Zinédine Zidane once more, before he passed the torch to Rafael Nadal. After Marie-José Perec and Teddy Riner, the last relay runners, lit the Cauldron, Céline Dion gave her first performance since being diagnosed with stiff person's syndrome in 2022, with a beautiful rendition of "L'Hymne à l’amour" on the Eiffel tower.

26/07 at 11:52 PM (Paris)

Flame lights up the sky in blazing finale

Set in a hot air ballon in the Tuileries, the flame ascended into the skies of Paris, marking the end of the ceremony.

26/07 at 11:28 PM (Paris)

Céline Dion performs under Olympic rings at Eiffel Tower

The Canadian singer (who sings in French!) performs a stirring rendition of Edith Piaf's "Hymne à l’amour."

26/07 at 11:27 PM (Paris)

Marie-José Perec and Teddy Riner are the last relay runners!

The last torchbearers who lit the Olympic cauldron situated in the Louvre's Tuileries gardens are two French sports legends: Perec, a track and fieldsprinter, and Riner, a judo star. The ring of flames was below a hot-air balloon.

26/07 at 11:25 PM (Paris)

Hi Confused, thanks for your "burning" question! The gas-fueled flame is able to be kept alight after multiple tests to make sure it's weatherproof. The torch also has emergency backups, to ensure continuity when passing the relay. It's also watched over by three well-trained guards.

Le Monde spoke with some of its guards back in May aboard the 'Belem'. "Our main role is to look after it," said François Blaizot-Bonnemains, a native of Cherbourg and one of the three keepers at the time.

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26/07 at 11:24 PM (Paris)

Flame heads towards Tuileries

The flame is being handed from athlete to athlete as it heads toward the Olympic cauldron in the Tuilerie Gardens. The lucky few include former fencing champion Jean-François Lamour, former judoka David Douillet, former Olympic swimming champions Alain Bernard and Laure Manaudou, pole-vaulter Renaud Lavillenie and fencer Laura Flessel.

26/07 at 11:18 PM (Paris)

Eternité: The last tableau

After almost four hours, we've officially arrived at the last tableau of the ceremony. It is starting at the Louvre Museum.

26/07 at 11:15 PM (Paris)

It's now Tony Parker's turn to carry the torch

Amélie Mauresmo handed it to the former NBA player at the Louvre. Paralympic torchbearers Alexis Hanquinquan and Nantenin Keita are next, as well as Marie-Amélie Le Fur.

26/07 at 11:13 PM (Paris)

We'll find out together!

26/07 at 11:13 PM (Paris)

Nadal hands torch to tennis star Amélie Mauresmo

26/07 at 11:04 PM (Paris)

Laser lights

A laser light show beamed out from the Eiffel Tower, lighting up the Olympic rings on the monument and illuminating the skies of Paris to the beat of Supernatureby Cerrone. A spectacular scene that shifts the show from the Seine to the sky.

26/07 at 11:03 PM (Paris)

Flame's back on the water... but where is it going?

Rafael Nadal carried the flame on the boat before passing to Serena Williams. Gymnast Nadia Comaneci held it next. She gave the torch to American sprinter Carl Lewis as the four athletes sped down the famous river to the song Supernature by Cerrone.

26/07 at 10:59 PM (Paris)

Hi Mary, you can definitely try but given the amount of security currently in place around the Trocadéro area, which is close to the Eiffel Tower, I'm not sure how much chance you'd have getting in.

You still have time to go to one of Paris' fan zones, where you can watch the rest of the ceremony on screens set up in public areas with other spectators. You can find a list of them here.

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26/07 at 10:59 PM (Paris)

Zinedine Zidane passes Olympic torch to Rafael Nadal

The French football legend, who took part in the ceremony's opening, passed the torch to the Spanish tennis star near the ending at the Torcadéro. We still don't know who the last torchbearer will be.

26/07 at 10:55 PM (Paris)

Macron says the Olympics are open

French President Emmanuel Macron officially announced the opening of the Olympic Games in paris.

26/07 at 10:52 PM (Paris)

President of the Organizing Committee speaks in Français and English

"Dear athletes, dear lovers of the Games in France and around the world, welcome to Paris!" began Tony Estanguet, the president of the Organizing Committee for the Games (COJOP), who switched from French to English midspeech. He hailed "a great love affair" between France and the Games. "It's a huge responsibility to keep this legacy alive, so we've put all our heart into it," continued Estanguet. "When you love the Games, first of all, you don't let a few raindrops bother you," he said to applause from the soaking wet crowd.

"When you love the Games passionately, you give them the most precious thing you have," he continued, "You have the audacity to do things that have never been done before. Like this opening ceremony in the city, the first in the history of the Olympic Games."

"Dear athletes of the world, we love you. Et à partir de maintenant, Paris vous appartient!," he concluded.

26/07 at 10:45 PM (Paris)

Hi There Thomas, and thanks for your question. The Olympic anthem is a choral cantata by the opera composer Spyridon Samaras, written to words by the Greek poet Kostis Palamas, in Demotic Greek.

26/07 at 10:32 PM (Paris)

Horse reached the Trocadéro

The mysterious figure finally arrived at Trocadéro after a lengthy horse ride on the Seine. On the back of a gray horse, they made their way to the main stage next to the Eiffel Tower to unveil the Olympic flag.

26/07 at 10:24 PM (Paris)

Raving in the rain

As the night set over Paris, dancers lit up the Seine in a rave-like ambiance (ever seen Step Up 2?) as rain poured down onto the stage, with the Passerelle Debilly bridge glowing in neon pink in the background.

Drag queen Piche, known for her participation in the second season of Drag Race France, danced to popular French party song "Freed From Desire" by Gala Rizzatto, followed by prima ballerina Germain Louvet and waacking dancer Princess Madoki. Drag Race France presenter Nicky Doll lipsynced to Dalida's "Paroles Paroles," and GG Palmer put on a wild voguing performance on the soaking wet stage.