The Paris Olympics are off to a rip-roaring start now that the Opening Ceremony has finished. Every Olympics, people cautiously wonder what the host city will have in store for audiences around the world, be it awkward and cringe or awesomely jaw-dropping. So, how did Paris do in 2024? "The opening ceremony simply wasn't great TV," wrote Dominic Patten of Deadline, "essentially an overripe tourism ad for the City of Lights." Emily Watkins of iNews, meanwhile, called it "an insane cabaret of clichés." What Opening Ceremony did they watch? I thought it was a gorgeous love letter to Paris, the history of the Olympics, and humanity in general. I ugly-cried through moments I thought I'd cynically roll my eyes at. Bravo.
It all depends on what kind of person you are and what type of expectations you have. At the end of the day, this is just a four-hour-long parade meant to introduce and welcome 6,800 athletes. Of course it will be a slog for some people, but what artistic director Thomas Jolly wove together here was much more stimulating and versatile than nearly any other Opening Ceremony I've seen. Opera, heavy metal, and techno; Lady Gaga, Aya Nakamura, and Celine Dion; a surreal fashion show, a robot horse traveling the River Seine, a giant flaming hot air balloon. French Minions, too! This was big, bold, and bonkers in many ways, but also beautiful.
Céline Dion Sings Her Heart Out on the Eiffel Tower
Let's start at the end, with what people will probably be discussing the most -- a triumphant performance from singer Céline Dion, positioned inside the Eiffel Tower while it blasts off in a laser-light show that makes Pink Floyd Night at the local planetarium look like a blinking digital clock. It was astounding, and brought NBC Sports commentator Kelly Clarkson to tears (twice), largely due to the tragic but inspiring story surrounding Dion's health struggles. Watch her performance above.
"Céline Dion's interpretation of 'L'Hymne à l'amour', her tribute to Edith Piaf's masterpiece, brought the whole of Paris to its feet," accurately reads the official Olympics press statement. "This irresistible artistic choice celebrated the power and emotion of a timeless classic, the extraordinary career of two of the greatest singers of all time, and finally Paris, and all the most beautiful things that France symbolizes." When they're right, they're right.
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The Olympics Cauldron Becomes a Fiery Balloon in the Sky
That was preceded by undoubtedly the most unique lighting of the Olympic Cauldron in history. The 2024 Paris Olympics did things very differently, being the first Olympics to have a cauldron that wasn't located at the stadium (and being the first Opening Ceremony to take place outside the stadium, despite the pouring rain). It's also the first floating Cauldron that I've seen -- a giant, minimalist hot air balloon with a flaming cauldron at its base.
"Installed at the heart of the city, in the Tuileries gardens of the Louvre, the Paris 2024 Cauldron is in the centre of one of the most beautiful views of the capital, aligned with the Palais du Louvre and its Pyramid, of the Obelisk of the Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Elysées with the Arc de Triomphe and the Paralympic Agitos at the end."
"The lighting of the cauldron was one of most eagerly expected moments of this opening ceremony.
After the final group relay, Marie-José Perec and Teddy Riner stepped forward above the great fountain of the garden to light up this unexpected and unprecedented Cauldron. Created by French designer Mathieu Lehanneur, a giant ring of fire was crowned with a great hot air balloon, creating one of the most memorable images of this ceremony: once lit and freed of its ties, the Cauldron took to the skies to shine in the skies of Paris.
"The flying, puncture-proof Cauldron disrupts tradition. Thanks to great technological prowess, the Olympic Flame shines with electricity: a light haze is illuminated by a beam of light. Flying in the skies of Paris tonight and every night during the Games, the Cauldron will come to the ground every day for the public to come and admire it. From July 27, everyone will be able to get up close to the Olympic Flame via a program of free tickets."
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The Masked Torch-Bearer, Lady Gaga, and Heavy Metal Beheadings
The journey to light that balloon cauldron took place across a nearly four-mile stretch on the River Seine, which was where much of the action happened during the Opening Ceremony. Beautifully filmed and scored pre-taped pieces were interspersed throughout the ceremony, following the bizarre parkour adventures of a mysterious hooded torch-bearer (who looked like they originated in Assassin's Creed). Ziplining across the Seine, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, infiltrating the Louvre, and riding a metallic horse down the river, the masked torch-bearer's adventures were exhilarating and intersected with a variety of epic musical performances and cutaways.
The incredible musical performances (curated by the fantastic musical director Victor le Masne) took place at some of the most historically important Parisian locations. Lady Gaga appeared in the Place Barye to launch the artistic part of the Opening Ceremony with a nod to the tradition of French music hall. From a majestic staircase resembling that of the nave of the Grand Palais, Lady Gaga reinterpreted the classic "Mon truc en plume" by Zizi Jeanmaire, an icon of French revue.
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Perhaps the best musical moment of the night, though, was an astonishing opera-metal mash-up between the French heavy metal band Gojira and Franco-Swiss opera singer Marina Viotti. The different members of Gojira were perched with their instruments throughout an epic palace, with headless aristocratic women in the windows, wearing red dresses (and holding their heads). They performed a song based on a French Revolution anthem while Viotti sailed by on a boat in front of the palace, flames bursting off the palace and the streets below. It all ended with blasts of red smoke and paper, the first metal song to be performed at the Olympics. (Watch it above.)
Good Lord, just recounting these details are enough to make me want to watch it again. I haven't even touched on half of the best moments from the Opening Ceremony. I can't believe people were bored or found an ounce of banality in it all. If the above videos entice you whatsoever, you owe it to yourself to check out more of the Opening Ceremony (especially those French Minions), which you can do through Peacock's Olympics hub below.
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