Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, and French-Malian singer Aya Nakamura were among the performers at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, which aimed to proudly display French culture with a modern touch. The event, the first to be held outside a stadium on the River Seine, faced challenging weather conditions. Directed by renowned French theatre director Thomas Jolly, the ceremony was designed to captivate both the global TV audience and those who attended in person despite the rain and tight security.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who watched the ceremony alongside other leaders, expressed his excitement on X (formerly Twitter), stating, "It is now. The world is watching us. Let's open the Games in style!" Lady Gaga, honoring her love for French culture, emerged from behind a fan of pom-poms held by her dance troupe to perform "Mon truc en plumes," a classic French music hall song by Zizi Jeanmaire.
Aya Nakamura, the most listened-to French-speaking singer globally, delivered a medley including her hits "Pookie" and "Djadja," along with a rendition of Charles Aznavour's "For me Formidable" to commemorate the centenary of his birth. Celine Dion, overcoming a rare illness, made a triumphant return by singing from the Eiffel Tower, performing Edith Piaf's "Hymn to Love."
According to Jolly, the ceremony's 12 phases depicted a nation rich in diversity and inclusivity, celebrating multiple Frances and uniting the world. Notable performances included Guillaume Diop, the Paris Opera's star dancer, who performed on a Paris rooftop, and the unexpected appearance of the heavy metal band Gojira at the Conciergerie.
The ceremony also featured an unusual collaboration between Gojira and French-Swiss mezzo-soprano Marina Viotti, known for her love of metal and classical music. Polish counter-tenor and break-dancer Jakub Jozef Orlinski interpreted an aria from Jean-Philippe Rameau's opera "Les Indes Galantes." The event commenced with a clip of French actor Djamel Debbouze carrying the Olympic torch into the Stade de France, only to realize it should have been taken to the river.
With the assistance of French football legend Zinedine Zidane, Debbouze then embarked on an underground journey through Paris, handing the torch to a group of children. Guided by a mysterious masked figure, the flame was eventually passed to the final relay for the cauldron.
