Olympics Highlights, Opening Ceremony Paris 2024: Ceremony concludes with lighting of hot-air balloon cauldron

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE

That brings us to the end of our coverage of the four-hour long Paris Olympics opening ceremony. With the glitz and glamour of what was the most unique opening ceremony in Olympic history done, it’s time for us to now shift our focus to the athletic competitions in hand.

As far as the Indian contingent is concerned, Day 1 will witness shooters and shuttlers in action, with India also taking on New Zealand in their opening fixture in men’s hockey.

For now, this is Amit signing off, bidding you all a good night!

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE

Here’s French president Emmanuel Macron declaring the 2024 Paris Olympics open shortly before the final torch relay.

Les Jeux de Paris 2024 sont ouverts ! pic.twitter.com/qu2FzvO8qE

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: Celion Dion's concludes ceremony!

The evening’s festivities in Paris conclude with Celine Dion performing Edith Piaf’s L’Hymne à l’amour on the Eiffel Tower!

And with that, the four-hour opening ceremony comes to an end!

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: The Olympic cauldron is lit!

The big moment has finally arrrived!

Nadal, Serena, Comaneci and Lewis hand the Olympic torch to tennis legend Amelie Mauresmo, who is joined by a host of other French sporting icons including 100-year-old cycling champion Charles Coste who joins them at the Gardens of the Tuileries, where the Olympic Cauldron awaits them.

And this is a cauldron like no other — it actually goes airborne. The cauldron turns out to be the base of a hot-air balloon, commemorating the first-ever hot-air balloon flight in 1783 in the city that is set to host the 33rd Olympics.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: Zidane, Nadal begin final leg of Olympic torch relay!

The focus is back on the Olympic torch relay and looks like this will be the final leg of the opening ceremony!

The masked individual who had been seen parkouring across various iconic spots in Paris, hands the torch to Zinedine Zidane, who in turn passes it to Rafael Nadal!

Nadal then joins fellow sporting legends Carl Lewis, Serena Williams and Nadia Comăneci in a boat.

🤝 Two sporting legends passing the flame. 🔥#Paris2024 #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/0yM9xo21eE

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: French prez Macron declares Paris 2024 open!

“Long live the Olympic Games, long live France,” says IOC chief Bach, concludding his speech

That is followed by French president Emmanuel Macron declaring the Paris 2024 Olympics open, and French flag-bearers Florent Manaudou and Melina Robert-Michon taking the athletes’ oath.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: IOC chief Bach speaks at Opening Ceremony

Tony Estanguet, president of Paris 2024, and IOC president Thomas Bach speak at the Opening Ceremony

While Estanguet welcomes the world back to Paris a century after it last hosted the Olympics, Bach promises a more sustainable, younger, inclusive games, and the first with gender equality

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: Olympic flag raised in front of Eiffel Tower

After galloping through the Seine, the mystery horse rider makes her way to the Eiffel Tower before riding towards Trocadéro Palace, where she hands over the Olympic flag, which is hoisted with the Olympic anthem being performed by Radio France Choir and the French National Orchesta. All along, the global feed shows key moments from the Summer Olympic Games over the years.

With the floating parade having come to an end, the remainder of the opening ceremony will now take place at the Trocadéro Palace in front of the Eiffel Tower, including the lighting of the Olympic torch.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE

We have several other performances and special moments after the conclusion of the floating parade, including a rendition of ‘Imagine’ by Juliette Armanet and a rider on a metallic horseback ‘galloping’ down the Seine. The horserider’s wearing a cape that has the Olympic rings on it, representing the spirit of friendship and solidarity.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE

Thank God there are no icebergs on the Seine

Near, far, wherever you are... 😉#OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/xFbbCCk1y1

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE

Special gesture from the Algerian contingent during the floating parade earlier today

The Algerian Olympics team threw flowers in the Seine, at the point where in 1961 around 200 Algerians were drowned by French police crushing a protest against an anti-Muslim curfew. https://t.co/kB9qfyCcb7

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: Australia, USA and France conclude floating parade!

The floating parade comes to an end with Australia, USA and France the last contingents to set sail in their respective boats! Australia and USA host the 2032 and 2028 Olympics in Brisbane and Los Angeles respectively while France are hosting the current edition!

Welcome @TeamUSA 🫡 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/LQClO2X0Uu

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: Ukraine gets a loud cheer!

Team Ukraine receive a loud cheer as their boat floats along the Seine

Meanwhile, Russia and Belarus, the nations that have been at war with Ukraine since 2022, are banned from the Opening Ceremony.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: Opening ceremony gets a touch of fashion

Onto nations starting with ’S’. Novak Djokovic is on the boat housing the Serbian contingent, the 24-time Grand Slam winner aiming to add Olympic gold to his rich career haul!

Meanwhile, what is an Olympic opening ceremony in France without a bit of fashion?

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE

Here’s the Indian contingent making their way through Seine!

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: Trailblazing French women honoured in opening ceremony.

We also had a section highlighting 10 famous women from French history, including film director Alice Guy and world-class athlete Alice Milliat.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: ‘Grateful’, ‘humbled’ says Lady Gaga

American singer-songwriter and actor Lady Gaga reacts for the first time since performing Mon truc en plumes at the Paris 2024 opening ceremony.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE

Nations starting with ‘M’ are making their way into the parade now, including Malaysia, Malta, Morocco among others.

It’s been raining for the better part of the opening ceremony so far; while some contingents have been spotted wearing raincoats, others have opted to flaunt the uniforms designed for the occasions regardless of the weather.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE

The Minions are followed by a spectacular rendition of La Marseillaise, the French national anthem, by Axelle Saint-Cirel from the rooftop of the Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: The minions make their way to Paris!

The minions from the ‘Despicable Me’ franchise make an appearance at the opening ceremony! Apparently, they’re searching for the Mona Lisa that has gone ‘missing’ from the Louvre, only to find it floating along the Seine!

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: Team India are in the house!

The 117-strong Indian contingent finally make their way through the Seine with PV Sindhu and Achanta Sharath Kamal as their flagbearers!

They are followed by Indonesia!

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: Aya Nakamura welcomed in style!

French-Malian singer Aya Nakamura performs in the Paris 2024 opening ceremony after Lady Gaga and she is welcomed in style with fireworks!

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE

One of the landmarks covered during the mystery torchbearer’s journey across Paris!

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: Opening ceremony takes the musical route

It certainly is a unique opening ceremony so far, almost as if we’re witnessing a musical or an opera! The floating parade appears to have been put on pause at the moment, with the focus on a series of musicals that showcase important events such as the French Revolution, while highlighting landmarks such as the Cathedral of Notre Dame!

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE

Olympic powerhouse China and Canada make their way through the Seine!

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: Masked individual seen carrying Olympic torch

Meanwhile a masked individual is carrying the Olympic torch, parkouring his way across the Paris skyline!

Remains to be seen who the mystery individual is. Might just be Kylian Mbappe for all we know!

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE

The floating parade continues in Seine despite rain, the sight of some athletes wearing rain gear on top of a boat reminiscent of the typical scenes at the Niagara Falls. Nations such as Brazil, Canada, China have made their way along the river now.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE

Turns out, Lady Gaga was singing Mon truc en plumes, originally performed by Zizi Jeanmaire.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: Lady Gaga’s in the house!

The American singer and actress was widely rumoured to be part of the Paris 2024 opening ceremony, and she does show up, much to the delight of the dignitaries, athletes and Parisians!

To add to the French flavour of the occasion, she sings in French!

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE

Next up we have Afghanistan, South Africa, Albania, Algeria, Germany, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Austria, Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan.

Some of the nations with smaller contingents are sharing boats.

Remember, the nations are entering the parade alphabetically, albeit in their French names instead of English. So Germany finds itself ahead on the list due to its French name being Alemania.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: Greece leads the floating parade

Greece traditionally begins the Olympic opening ceremony being the home of the ancient Olympics. They are followed by the Refugee Olympic Team.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: Opening ceremony underway in Paris!

The live coverage of the opening ceremony begins with a montage featuring iconic French footballer Zinedine Zidane. Shortly after, the camera cuts to French President Emmanuel Macron and IOC chief Thomas Bach.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE

It’s almost time for the grand festivities to begin! The Paris 2024 opening ceremony should be starting any minute now.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: First dope test in Paris Games

An Iraqi judoka has tested positive for banned anabolic steroids, becoming the first doping case in the Paris Olympics. A sample collected from Sajjad Sehen “returned an adverse analytical finding for the non-specified prohibited substances metandienone and boldenone”, according to the ITA.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: India's shuttlers geared up for the opening ceremony

India’s badminton stars seem to be all geared up for the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. Lakshya Sen, who will be playing in his debut Olympics, shared a photo on ‘X’ with his teammates in the ceremonial dress outfit.

Honored to represent India with the amazing Indian team in our national colors! 🇮🇳 Let's make India proud! #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/td6cbSztUP

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: A look at India's schedule on Day 1

Shooters, men’s hockey team and badminton stars headline India’s campaign on Day 1 of the Paris Olympics on Saturday (27 July). What’s the full schedule like for Indian athletes and teams on Saturday? Click here to read.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: Sachin Tendulkar wishes India's athletes the best

Less than an hour remains for the start of the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony. Wishes are pouring in from people all over the country, and Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar joined in wishing India’s athletes the best. Here’s his message:

The @Olympics have always been a celebration of unity and excellence. As #Paris2024 begins, let's cheer on our incredible team of 117 athletes representing 1.4 billion hearts. Go out there and make us proud, Team India. Jai Hind!@Media_SAI @WeAreTeamIndia @IndiaSports… pic.twitter.com/UHQJvfpawJ

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: Olympic torch relay travels through Club France

In case you missed it, the Olympic torch relay entered its final leg as the torch travelled through Club France ahead of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony. Here are a few photos from the event:

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: Less than two hours left for the opening ceremony!

It’s now less than two hours set for the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics that will be held at river Seine. A reminder of the time of the ceremony —It will begin at 11 pm IST (7.30 pm local time) with more than 10,000 athletes from around the world to take part in a floating parade.

2 hours left until the #OpeningCeremony! 🤩
Are you ready celebrate the official beginning of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games ? 🔥
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H-2 🤩
Plus que deux petites heures qui nous séparent d'une soirée mémorable pleine de surprises !!! 🥰
Prêts à vibrer au rythme des Jeux Olympiques… pic.twitter.com/RXiuv9RMDL

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: Brazil legend Zico robbed in Paris

Football legend Zico, who is in Paris as a guest of the Brazilian Olympic team, filed a complaint with the French police on Friday after his bag containing valuables including cash and jewellery was stolen. Zico reportedly lost 500,000 euros worth of goods.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: Harmanpreet Singh on India's hockey ambitions

“The mindset is clear. We are not going there just to participate”

Captain Harmanpreet Singh discusses India’s ambitions of winning back-to-back Olympic medals in men’s hockey for the first time since 1972 in an exclusive chat.

Click here to read the full story

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: All decked up for the grand opening ceremony!

The 117-member Indian contingent are all set for the most unique opening ceremony in the history of the Olympics! Table tennis icon Achanta Sharath Kamal and two-time Olympic medal-winning shuttler PV Sindhu will be India’s flag-bearers for the floating parade along River Seine.

And, we’re all set for the Opening Ceremony! Tune in for a unique Ceremony, a first for the Summer Olympics where the ceremony will be held outside a stadium! The parade of athletes will be held on river Seine!
Let’s cheer loud for our athletes! Chalo #JeetKiAur#Cheer4Bharat pic.twitter.com/KQjzd4axvF

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: French rain attacks forces UK PM to change plans

The sabotage attack on the French rail network has forced newly-elected British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to fly to Paris for the opening ceremony instead of taking the cross-Channel rail service from London.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: Snoop Dogg carries the Olympic torch

American rap icon Snoop Dogg, who will be presenting the Paris Olympics for the NBC network having previously done so during the Tokyo Games as well, was part of the Olympic torch’s journey to Paris for the opening ceremony. The 52-year-old took over from fellow rapper MC Solaar at Stade de France, carrying the flame down Canal Saint-Denis before handing the torch to a 17-year-old schoolboy.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: French president Macron welcomes world leaders

World leaders have begun arriving at French president Emmanuel Macron’s Elysee Palace office shortly before the opening ceremony is to get underway along the Seine river. Macron and his wife Brigitte are holding a reception for 85 heads of state or government before the ceremony.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: India's schedule for Paris Olympics

India will pin their hopes on each of their 117 athletes to come good and better their record of seven medals from three years ago. What is the schedule like for Indian athletes and teams during the next two weeks of the Olympics? Click here to read the complete India schedule

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: Who are India's flag bearers for opening ceremony?

Table tennis legend Achanta Sharath Kamal and two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu will be India’s flag bearer at the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony. A total of 117 Indian athletes will take part in the Olympics. This is the second-highest Indian contingent in terms of athletes, with 121 athletes having taken part in Tokyo Olympics three years ago.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: France railway attack to affect 800,000 people in weekend

The head of SNCF, Jean-Pierre Farandou, called the attacks on the French railway network “premeditated, calculated, coordinated” that had a “desire to seriously harm”. Farandou said that the attack would impact 800,000 people across the weekend

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: French railway attack won't affect opening ceremony

According to Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, the attack on the TGV Network, France’s high-speed rail network, will not impact the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics on Friday. “The unacceptable sabotage has no effect on the transport network in the French capital,” she said.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: Rain to play spoilsport in Paris?

Rain could play spoilsport in Paris during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Friday. According to French weather channel La Chaine Meteo, there s a 70-80 per cent chance with “moderate to heavy rain”. Click here to read the full report.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE: Basel-Mulhouse airport in French-Swiss border opened after brief closure

The Basel-Mulhouse airport at the French-Swiss border was briefly closed before reopening amid a bomb scare. The airport was shut down briefly for “safety reasons” in the aftermath of the railway line attack.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE

France’s high-speed rail network were hit by several “malicious” acts overnight, with vandals carrying out arson attacks. French rail company SNCF said its installations along the lines connecting Paris with the west, north and east were set on fire.

“Last night, SNCF was the victim of several acts of vandalism on the Atlantic, Northern and Eastern high-speed lines. Fires were deliberately set to damage our installations,” SKY News quoted SNCF as saying in a statement.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE

With just hours to go before the Pars Olympics opening ceremony, the French rail networks have been hit by arson attacks by vandals. Several trains have been cancelled or delayed due to what French officials have described as “criminal actions”. Click here to read more.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE

How to watch the opening ceremony online in India? 

Fans can watch the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on the JioCinema mobile app and website for free of cost. As far as TV broadcast is concerned, the ceremony will be televised on Sports18 channels.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE

Here’s all you need to know as far as the timings of the 2024 Paris Olympics is concerned:

Date and time of Paris Olympics opening ceremony 

The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics will take place on Friday, 26 July 2024. The entire ceremony will take place along river Seine in Paris. The ceremony is scheduled to start at 11 pm IST, which is 7.30 pm local time in Paris. The Paris Olympics opening ceremony will begin at 1.30 pm Eastern Daylight Time.

Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony LIVE

Hello and welcome to our LIVE coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony. The opening ceremony will take place along the river Seine in Paris, making it the first time the opening ceremony of the Games won’t take place inside the stadium. The opening ceremony is scheduled to get underway at 11 pm IST (7.30 pm local time). We will bring you all the updates building up to the ceremony. Stay tuned.