--- title: Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony in Photos description: Not even the pouring rain could dampen the mood as thousands of athletes and spectators alike gathered in Paris to kick off the 2024 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony on Friday. canonical: https://time.com/7004192/paris-2024-olympics-opening-ceremony-photos/ author: Simmone Shah article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-07-26T20:00:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-30T13:25:26.331Z article:section: Sports og:title: Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony in Photos og:description: An estimated 10,500 athletes floated along an almost four mile route in almost 100 boats. og:url: https://time.com/7004192/paris-2024-olympics-opening-ceremony-photos/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc7629860ee29b486/698a595186f68e37c16f566d/olympics-opening-ceremony-2024-paris-016.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony in Photos twitter:description: An estimated 10,500 athletes floated along an almost four mile route in almost 100 boats. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc7629860ee29b486/698a595186f68e37c16f566d/olympics-opening-ceremony-2024-paris-016.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- # Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony in Photos > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. Jul 26, 2024 8:00 PM UTC  An aerial view of Eiffel Tower during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. An aerial view of Eiffel Tower during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024.Lionel Bonaventure—Reuters by [Simmone Shah](https://time.com/author/simmone-shah/) and [TIME Photo](https://time.com/author/time-photo/) Jul 26, 2024 8:00 PM UTC Not even the pouring rain could dampen the mood as thousands of athletes and spectators alike gathered in Paris to kick off the [2024 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony](https://time.com/7002124/olympics-opening-ceremony-country-order/) on Friday. The spectacle was the first Olympic ceremony to be held outside a stadium, and featured several nods to French culture and performances by Lady Gaga and Mali-born French singer Aya Nakamura. The opening ceremony, which was expected to be the [largest in Olympic ](https://olympics.com/en/news/paris-2024-olympic-games-opening-ceremony-all-you-need-to-know?irclickid=RBg2PVwhIxyKTcXyfZUbywnNUkC2qIR8KXGUUQ0&irgwc=1&%5Fs=afl%5Fimpact&utm%5Fsource=Impact&utm%5Fmedium=affiliates&SSAID=10078)history both in geographical coverage and in number of viewers, began with a plume of blue, white, and red smoke before each delegation began floating along the Seine River, waving flags to the crowds gathered around the river bank. An estimated 10,500 athletes floated along an almost four mile route in almost 100 boats, passing several Olympic venues along the way, including the La Concorde Urban Park and the Grand Palais. Over 300,000 spectators were able to watch the ceremony from the banks of the Seine, with giant screens set up throughout the city for viewers across Paris. The route will end opposite the Trocadero – the esplanade across from the Eiffel Tower where the Olympic cauldron will be lit and the Games will officially begin. Here are some photos from the ceremony.  Spectators watch from windows as they applaud the athlete's parade.Thomas Samson—Pool/Getty Images  Attendees wear rain covers as they sit in the stands during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.Oli Scarff—AFP/Getty Images  The Olympic torch is carried on a boat, under the Austerlitz bridge, along the river Seine at the start of the opening ceremony.Aris Messinis—AFP/Getty Images  Lady Gaga performs ahead of the opening ceremony.Luca Bruno—AP  Coco Gauff and Lebron James, flag-bearers of Team U.S.A., are seen waving their flag on a boat on the River Seine during the opening ceremony.Lars Baron—Getty Images  Entertainers Ariana Grande, right, and Cynthia Erivo arrive in Paris, France, before the opening ceremony.Natacha Pisarenko—AP  Actors perform during the opening ceremony.Wang Dongzhen—Pool/Getty Images  Tightrope walker Nathan Paulin performs on a high rope during the athletes’ parade on the River Seine near the Supreme Court.Buda Mendes—Getty Images  French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron stood alongside International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics.Anushree Fadnavis—Reuters  Team Cameroon, Team Canada, Team Central African, Team Central African Republic, Team Chile and Team People's Republic of China cruise during the athletes’ parade during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.Richard Heathcote—Getty Images  Netherlands' flag-bearer Lois Abbingh and Netherlands' flag-bearer Worthy Donovan Rafael de Jong sail aboard the boat of the Netherland's delegation along the river Seine during the opening ceremony.Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt—Pool/AFP/Getty Images  Performers on Pont au Change near the Conciergerie during the opening ceremony.Adnan Abidi—Reuters  Athletes of Team Spain hold Spanish flags during the opening ceremony.Santos Moura—Pool/AFP/Getty Images  Security patrol by boat in Paris before the opening ceremony.Rebecca Blackwell—AP  South Korea's olympic team wave their flag as their boat passes under a bridge in Paris during the opening ceremony.Lee Jin-man—AP  Floriane Issert, a non-commissioned officer of the National Gendarmerie, rides on a metal horse up the Seine river past the Cassation Court and Conciergerie, during the opening ceremony.Kirill Kudryavtsev—AFP/Getty Images  Torch-bearer Rafael Nadal of Spain is seen during the opening ceremony.Stephanie Lecocq—Pool/AFP/Getty Images  Flag-bearers enter the Trocadero during the opening ceremony.Edgar Su—Reuters  Overview of the Trocadero venue, raindrops cover the lens, during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.Francois-Xavier Marit—AFP/Getty Images  French Paralympic Marie-Amelie Le Fur holds the Olympics torch during the opening ceremony.David Gray—AFP/Getty Images  The torch-bearers French former sprinter Marie-Jose Perec and French judoka Teddy Riner arrive to light the Olympic cauldron.Mohd Rasfan—AFP/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7004192/paris-2024-olympics-opening-ceremony-photos/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7004192/paris-2024-olympics-opening-ceremony-photos/"},"headline":"Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony in Photos","datePublished":"2024-07-26T20:00:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-30T13:25:26.331Z","description":"An estimated 10,500 athletes floated along an almost four mile route in almost 100 boats.","url":"https://time.com/7004192/paris-2024-olympics-opening-ceremony-photos/","keywords":["2024 Paris Olympics","News Desk","sponsorshipblock"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Simmone Shah","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/simmone-shah/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Photo","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-photo/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2024-paris-olympics/","name":"2024 Paris Olympics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7004192/paris-2024-olympics-opening-ceremony-photos/","name":"Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony in Photos"}}]}] ```