Men’s Rugby Sevens are one of the first events to get underway today at the Paris Games. Australia plays Samoa in the first game at 9:30 a.m. ET, before Team USA takes on hosts France at 10:30 a.m. ET and Tokyo gold-medalists Fiji at 2:30 p.m. ET.

The sport, which originated in Scotland, is a variant of rugby union — one of the sports in which football has its roots. The main difference is that while regular Rugby Union is played with 15-player teams over 40-minute halves, sevens has seven-player teams playing seven-minute halves.

The Olympic men's and women's sevens tournaments feature 12 teams each. The variant made its debut at the 2016 Rio Games after a 92-year-long absence of any Games rugby, after the full-size version was discontinued following the violence that occurred at the last Paris Games a hundred years ago.

Fiji’s men's team and New Zealand’s women's team won gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Games. The tournaments are set to run from July 24-30. The men’s final, scheduled for July 27, will be the first event to award a team sport gold medal at the Games this year.

About 15 minutes into the opening soccer match between Spain and Uzbekistan, the stands here at Parc des Princes are about two-thirds filled.

Fans are spread throughout every corner of the stadium, so it would appear nearly all tickets are spoken for, but some are taking their time to get here.

No score.

Let the Games begin!

It's 3 p.m. local time and the Paris Olympic Games are getting underway with men's soccer. In two simultaneous games, Euro 2024 winners Spain take on Uzbekistan at Paris' Parc des Princes, while 250 miles away in Saint-Étienne, Copa America champions Argentina face Morocco.

While the men’s soccer tournament has an under-23 age requirement, Argentina is expected to field a few of its senior players who lifted the Copa America Cup earlier this month. Julián Álvarez is in the squad, as is Nicolás Otamendi. Paris Saint-Germain star Achraf Hakimi may feature for Morocco too.

Eagle-eyed readers might point out that the opening ceremony doesn't take place until Friday and ask why there's soccer happening today. Fortunately, Benjamin Ceugnart, Competitions Calendar Project Manager at Paris 2024, explains on the Games' official site.

"Since the Barcelona 1992 Games, football has started ahead of the opening ceremony," he explains. "What’s more, the players can’t play every day, so they need a recovery period of at least 48 hours."

Coco Gauff said she couldn't hold in her emotions when telling her mom she would be the female flagbearer for Team USA during Friday's Opening Ceremony on the Seine.

Speaking with NBC News' "TODAY," Gauff, who will be the first tennis player to carry the flag, revealed she found out about the honor Tuesday during a photoshoot with her tennis teammates. They were wearing their opening ceremony outfits when teammate Chris Eubanks presented her with her flag bearer jacket.

"I didn’t want to cry in front of my teammates when Chris told me. I was holding it in," Gauff told Craig Melvin. "But when I called my mom, I started crying because I think it’s even more special that so many incredible people ... think that I’m worthy of this. And it means a lot, truly."

A life-long Miami Heat fan, Gauff recalled watching fellow flag bearer LeBron James during his time. While the pair have never met, Gauff revealed she once received social media messages from the basketball icon with words of encouragement. "This is a cool kind of circumstance to be meeting him," Gauff said. "And I guess I'll actually get to know him a little bit"

American gymnastics superstar Simone Biles has been getting in some practice ahead of her first Paris Olympics event scheduled for 3:30 a.m. ET on Sunday July 28th.

Artistic gymnastics events are due to take place from July 27 to August 5. Biles, who is history's most decorated gymnast, called the coming Olympics a "redemption tour" after Team USA was forced to settle for silver in Tokyo.

At the 2020 Games in Japan, the 27-year-old withdrew from the final individual all-around competition, citing mental health consideration. She won four golds at the 2016 Rio Games.

The Games are set to begin in less than an hour, with soccer games in Paris and Saint-Étienne. One of those games features Copa América winners Argentina, but fans may be disappointed by the absence of sporting legend Lionel Messi. Why no Messi?

In an interview with ESPN, Messi said that he was "not at an age to be in everything." Because soccer players have to contend with a crowded calendar, they have to pick and choose which tournaments they can take part in.

The Copa América and the European Championship, two of the game’s most prestigious international tournaments, ended on July 14. Domestic leagues don’t stop for the Olympics, either. The MLS regular season is ongoing and will run through October, while England’s Premier League begins its season on August 16, shortly after the Olympics.

Last minute preparations for the Olympics opening ceremony are taking place this morning along the Seine, where Coco Gauff and LeBron James will carry the stars and stripes Friday.

Security is tight with police from around the world mixing with units of French soldiers. Sound systems are being tested and live broadcast camera crews are rehearsing.

The man responsible for the Eiffel Tower will have one of the best seats in the house for a history-making Opening Ceremony. From the second floor of the world famous landmark he points out the route.

Coco Gauff has spoken of her pride after being confirmed as Team USA's female flagbearer for Friday's Olympics opening ceremony.

A big basketball fan, Gauff will carry the flag alongside hoops legend LeBron James during Friday’s procession on the Seine in Paris. The pair are at opposite ends of their sporting careers — when Gauff was born in 2004, James had already played 62 NBA games for the Cleveland Cavaliers, having been drafted a year earlier.

"I never thought in a million years I would have the honor of carrying the American flag for Team USA in the Opening Ceremony," Gauff said in a Team USA statement. "I could not be more proud to lead my teammates with LeBron as we showcase our dedication and passion on the biggest stage there is — at a moment where we can bring athletes and fans together from around the world."

Tennis star Coco Gauff will become Team USA’s youngest athlete ever to carry the flag at an Olympic Games opening ceremony, after being announced as the female flag bearer for Friday’s procession, NBC News first reported.

Gauff, who won her first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open last year, will join basketball legend LeBron James in carrying the stars and stripes as part of the ceremony on the Seine River.

The 20-year-old Floridian native will be making her Olympic debut in Paris. She missed the Tokyo Games in 2021 when she was 17, after testing positive for Covid days before she was due to travel to Japan.