2024 Paris Olympics: Céline Dion, boat parade and more highlights from the opening ceremony

The build-up to every Olympics always involves anxious headlines about what could go wrong. They miss the mark almost every time.

Who predicted that this history-making opening ceremony would be remembered for rain?

There were concerns over security, whether the river would be ready and the heat. But no one said, "what happens if it pours through almost the entire opening event?’

The rhythm of the Olympics is that all the fears fall away after the first night and the party begins.

That’s what happened tonight, despite the wet weather. It was a party. And the adversity of downpours just added to the determination to have a good time.

Singer Céline Dion, who performed “Hymne à l’amour” at the opening ceremony of the Paris Games earlier today, took in the sights and sounds of Paris before her performance.

“I’m so happy to be here with you this week! I’d like to also extend a warm thank you to the local Gendarmes for keeping us safe," she wrote on a social media post that included a photo she snapped with police.

She also made a stop at the world-famous Louvre earlier this week.

"Every time I return to Paris, I remember there’s so much beauty and joy still to experience in the world," she wrote.

Paris is the first place on Earth where humans fully realized our dreams of flight — all the way back in 1783.

The original hot air balloon piloted by humans was built by the Montgolfier brothers and launched in November 1783. Then, a week later, a gas balloon piloted by Jacques Alexander Charles and Nicholas Louis Robert took off from the Louvre in front of King Louis XVI and 400,000 Parisians.

From then until the Wright brother’s, the French were the rulers of the sky. For a century the balloons, not the Eiffel Tower, defined the Paris skyline.

At one point in the 1870s, a massive tethered hydrogen balloon was also tethered in front of the Louvre and carried some 36,000 royals, scholars, dignitaries and normal citizens up into the heavens.

Stay tuned for a story about the history of ballooning, airing on the Olympic Zone.

A spectacular light show was displayed on the Eiffel Tower as the torch made its way to its final destination: the cauldron.

Tennis star Rafael Nadal expressed his feelings about being at the Paris Games and opening ceremony with a heart emoji.

Earlier today, soccer great Zinedine Zidane passed the Olympic torch to Nadal during the opening ceremony near the end, close to the lighting ceremony.

U.S. women's soccer forward Mallory Swanson lauded the team's preparation after a comfortable 3-0 win in their Olympic opener against Zambia yesterday.

Swanson, who scored two of the USWNT's three goals against Zambia told NBC News: "I think that we ultimately just had a really fast start to the game. This past week, we’ve been really focusing on finishing and I think it paid off."

Teammate Trinity Rodman was also on the scoresheet for the U.S., claiming her first Olympic goal, and she couldn't have been happier about the outcome.

"It felt amazing," Rodman said when Hoda Kotb asked about her goal. "It couldn’t have gone any better, so I’m very happy."

The team's focus now turns to Sunday's match against Germany.

The Beyhive collectively gasped tonight when Beyoncé appeared in a pre-recorded segment to support Team USA.

The singer donned a special Team USA bodysuit and floor-length jacket for the occasion, along with a sparkly American flag cowboy hat to introduce the athletes.

“Get a look at America y’all. These hopes and dreams. These superstars that represent us, the people of this big bold beautiful complicated nation, all rooting together for them,” she said over the track of her hit “Ya Ya.”

“We’ve got superstars and we’ve got legends,” she continued. “We’ve got big dreamers, who fought their whole lives to get here. Who gave up everything for one shot and made it.”

“That pride and that joy, that’s what gets me about this team and that’s what makes me believe in this team,” she said. “And thats why I can’t wait to see what they pull over these next 16 days.”

“America, give it up for Team USA,” she concluded. “The very best of who we are. What a vision to behold. What a team to believe in. What a night to celebrate.”

As the coverage returned to the flotilla on the River Seine and Team USA floated across, the hosts were thrilled about the Beyoncé appearance.

“Y’all, and what about Beyoncé?” pop star Kelly Clarkson asked. “Just kicking everything off and getting everybody amped for this. I couldn’t think of a more perfect artist to do that for these athletes.

“If I’m Steve Kerr, I’m showing that video before my game,” former NFL player Peyton Manning replied, referring to the Team USA men's basketball coach. “Let Beyoncé do all the talking.”

John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s song “Imagine” has been a mainstay of the Olympics ever since Stevie Wonder performed it at the 1996 Atlanta Games in memory of the victims of the Centennial Olympic Park bombing.

The song is one of several symbols that represent peace at the Games — white doves and olive branches among them. While those symbols are represented at every Games, they are particularly salient in 2024 as the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 39,000, while the war in Ukraine is well into its third year. 

One year ago today, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach quoted the song against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.

“The Olympic Games must always build bridges. The Olympic Games must never erect walls. Imagine. You may say we are dreamers. We are not the only ones,” Bach said.

Only months later, the Israel-Hamas war would erupt.

This year, the song was interpreted by French singer Juliette Armanet, accompanied by pianist Sofiane Pamart. A float on the Seine included ground that appeared to be crumbling a piano aflame.

In the delayed 2021 games, a star-studded lineup including John Legend and Keith Urban sang the song.

U.S. track and field star Sha’Carri Richardson was savoring the experience of floating down the Seine with other athletes at the Paris Games opening ceremony earlier today.

“The journey that we’ve been experiencing so far has been phenomenal. The art, the culture, the love from the fans,” Richardson said.

She also called the experience "humbling" but said all the athletes worked hard to be there, and deserve to be there.

Asked what her 9-year-old self, who had just started running track, would say to the now 24-year-old Richardson cited hard work.

“No matter what happened, no matter what was going on, you stayed committed to the fact that you love what you love, you put your full self into what you’re doing,” Richardson said.

“That’s all that matters, and it’s always going to show.”

Richardson is the heavy favorite in the women’s 100-meter.

“When everyone walks away from the Paris Olympics — including Sha’Carri Richardson — I will be saying, and the world will be saying, that Sha’Carri Richardson put her best self and her full self in front of the world,” she said.

As the Summer Olympics take place in France (and Tahiti), astronauts on the International Space Station are having their own out-of-this-world competition.

NASA posted a video on YouTube of its astronauts "getting into the Olympic spirit," carrying their own Olympic torch at zero gravity along with a training montage.

"We can't imagine how hard this must be to be such a world class athlete doing your sports under actual gravity," astronaut Matt Dominick said to Olympians on Earth. "So from all of us aboard the International Space Station to every single athlete in the Olympic Games, godspeed."

Harvard University is known for a lot of things — but being an Olympic powerhouse hasn’t always made that list.

However, its fencing program has been dominating a niche in the sports world. Of the 20 fencers headed to the Olympics for the U.S., six are past, current or soon-to-be Harvard athletes. And two more Harvard fencers are set to compete in Paris as part of Canada’s national team.

Of the six Crimson athletes on the U.S. team, four are alumni — three of whom graduated only two months ago — one is a rising college senior and the other is a high schooler committed to the university.

Read the full story here.

Opening ceremony co-host for NBC and Super Bowl champion QB Peyton Manning broke out the wristband that quarterbacks use to keep track of plays during the procession of athletes down the river Seine.

“Oh, this is just my wristband,” Manning, who has won two Super Bowls, said when questioned about it by Kelly Clarkson.

“I, you know, have notes on all 200 countries and all 10,000 athletes -- that’s not normal?” Manning joked.

While millions of TV viewers were wowed by the grandeur of today's opening ceremony, paying customers who shelled out thousands of dollars to be there and shiver in the rain were far less impressed.

"There was not a real show for us," said student Hannah Margram, 24. “It was too big and too long, so it wasn't a good experience for anybody."

A seat at the opening ceremony amounted to watching a massive TV monitor and waving at passing boats without actually witnessing any live acts.

"I don't think passing boats is worth the price," photographer Raphael Metivet said of his 1,600-euro seat. "There's no entertainment in front of us, there's nothing happening . We just saw boats passing by."

The Paris Olympics’ surfing venue, Teahupo’o in French Polynesia nearly 10,000 miles from the city, is welcoming tasty waves this weekend, with the first of four days of competition scheduled tomorrow amid a nine-day window designed to allow for flat, off days.

The event is composed of six rounds, starting with tomorrow’s eight heats featuring three surfers each, and including quarterfinals, semifinals and final — the latter three planned for a single day. Event forecaster Kurt Korte of private wave forecast service Surfline is enthused about the expected conditions, with head-high to “several feet overhead” waves en route, he said.

“Lots of opportunity for some good waves,” Korte said. “Should be a great day.”

He credits two overlapping southwest swells that will hit the reef off the village of Teahupo’o to create its churning, left-breaking barrel. Competitors who can paddle into that barrel and spend quality time there with style, and without wiping out, could wow judges and grab a heat-winning bye into Round 3. Team USA surfer and world No. 1 Caitlin Simmers of Oceanside, California, will be looking for those sustainable tubes on Saturday.

Light, northeast winds are likely to help by contributing to clean conditions free of chop, Korte said.

The break could see a bump in size on Tuesday, when waves 8 to 12 feet are in the Surfline forecast. Organizers hope that Tuesday will host the event’s final rounds.

As Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass got a firsthand look at the launch of the 2024 Olympics, a labor-backed coalition launched “Campaign Hometeam,” an operation aimed at shaping the 2028 Olympics in L.A.

“The campaign will focus on fighting for and protecting the interests of the people — primarily Black, brown and low-income — who live in the communities surrounding the sports venues that will host the LA Games,” the campaign said in a statement today.

The mayor’s office said she’s traveling with first lady Jill Biden as part of the White House delegation to Paris. In a statement yesterday, Bass seemed to anticipate labor’s demands. 

“We continue to learn about strategies and solutions from Parisian and regional officials that we can leverage back home in Los Angeles to help local small businesses, create local jobs and make lasting environmental and transportation improvements throughout our region,” Bass said.

Hundreds of U.S. athletes were ferried down the Seine tonight in the Parade of Nations that kicked off the Paris Games.

Throughout the ceremony, a mysterious hooded and masked figure whizzed across a zip line from rooftop to rooftop, and along the Seine, as the torchbearer.

The figure made their way through the largest museum in the world, the Louvre, home to the “Venus de Milo” and the “Mona Lisa.”

The torchbearer, whose identity was never revealed, inspired a slew of online memes and comparison’s to “Assassin’s Creed” and Fox’s “The Masked Singer.” One user on X joked, “This is the longest episode of the masked singer ever” and some lamented never learning who was behind the mask.

Read about other standout moments from tonight’s opening ceremony.

We’ve only had a trickle of events so far in the build-up to the opening ceremony, but things really kick off tomorrow with diving, swimming, and fencing.

The first few medals of the games are also up for grabs, and among them is the men’s skateboarding street final. The event is returning for its second Olympics after wowing crowds in Tokyo three years ago. 

At Paris’ iconic Place de la Concorde, 22 of the world’s best in street skating showcase their skills and tricks with grinds, slides, and aerials in front of the judges.

Japan’s returning champion, Yuto Horigome, is among the favorites to win, but faces stiff competition from his 14-year-old countryman, Onodera Ginwoo, as well as the USA’s Nyjah Huston.

Céline Dion seemed to beam with pride following her performance tonight.

Speaking on Instagram, the 56-year-old Canadian whose first song, which she wrote at age 12, was in French, expressed respect.

"I’m honored to have performed tonight, for the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony, and so full of joy to be back in one of my very favorite cities," she said.

The star's performance marked her first since she announced her diagnosis of stiff-person syndrome in 2022. She closed out the night at the base of the Eiffel Tower with “L’Hymne à l’amour."

Observing the sacrifices of the top athletes in Paris, she said she wants them to be proud, too. "We know how hard you have worked to be the best of the best. Stay focused, keep going, my heart is with you!," Dion said.

President Joe Biden appeared in a Team USA Olympic jacket as he left the White House today. The white jacket had a flag and the words USA on the back.

The president walked to Marine One, the helicopter, en route to Camp David.

First lady Jill Biden was set to lead the U.S. delegation for the opening ceremony in Paris.

The Paris Games' are celebrating a mix of artistry and athleticism.

Lady Gaga kicked things off musically with a performance of Zizi Jeanmaire’s “Mon Truc En Plumes” on a set of stairs along the Seine River.

Surrounded by pink feathers, Gaga’s brief set was reminiscent of her Jazz and Piano residency in Las Vegas. It also appeared to pay tribute to Jeanmaire’s performance of the song on the Ed Sullivan Show. After descending the stairs, Gaga kicked on a chorus line and played on a piano.

Read more about the musical performances.

For the first time, athletes from around the world made their grand entrance to the Olympic Games via boat. Each national delegation sailed down the “main artery“ of Paris, the Seine River.

Greece was the first delegation, with NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo carrying the flag. The country has been the traditional leader of the parade, in honor of the origins of the Olympics in Ancient Greece 3,000 years ago.

Team USA’s boat, which included flag bearers Coco Gauff and LeBron James, was the penultimate vessel to sail into view in the opening ceremony. The country’s placement symbolizes the next Olympic cycle, when the U.S. will host the Games in Los Angeles in 2028.

France, as the host country, had the honor of closing the 2024 parade.

Read about other standout moments from tonight's opening ceremony.

You can call that an understatement: Rap icon Snoop Dogg posted a photo of himself holding the Olympic torch in Paris earlier today and wrote “Did somethin today” — the day he carried it through Saint-Denis, north of Paris.

He said the experience of holding the torch was hard to put into words.

"The D-o-double was holding the torch, walking through the city, man. I felt like Muhammad Ali," Snoop told told Mike Tirico.

"We're here for peace, love and unity and great sportsmanship," the rapper said. "That's what we're here for, baby."

The opening ceremony is over, but the Olympics are just getting going — and so is NBC’s coverage of the Paris Games.

The boat parade down the Seine, the pomp and circumstance, the cauldron lighting and all of today’s surprises will be shown again tonight during “enhanced” coverage that includes bonus footage, athlete reaction and more.

Tune in at 7:30 p.m. on NBC and follow along here.

The SNCF, France's national state-owned rail company, said additional law enforcement personnel and rail staff are monitoring the network following last night's sabotage.

About 40 police teams and 50 drones have been deployed, the SNCF said in a statement. The company has more than a hundred employees working on repairs and says it's confident that high-speed train services will improve by tomorrow on the routes that were affected by the attacks.

Transportation for Olympic personnel and teams is being provided for, according to the statement.

While the Olympic village in Paris is abuzz today ahead of the opening ceremony, 10,000 miles away in Tahiti, the Olympic surfers are settling into a unique village of their own.

The surfing events for the Games will see 48 competitors, including Team USA's Carissa Moore and Caroline Marks, descend on the picturesque coastal village of Teahupo’o, a renowned surfing spot famous for being one of the most extreme and dangerous in the world. To accommodate those athletes, organizers are pushing the boat out, literally.

They will be spending the next few weeks staying on a luxury cruise ship. Tokyo silver medalist Kanoa Igarashi shared a tour of the ship with his followers on TikTok. There's no cardboard beds in sight here, and it might just be the first Olympic village that comes complete with water slides and a tattoo parlor.

Full primetime coverage of the Olympic opening ceremony begins tonight on NBC and Peacock at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Céline Dion’s performance drew a tearful standing ovation from drinkers at Au Trappiste in the 1st Arrondissement.

“Céline is the queen — the queen of everything,” said Angie Miorin, 30, who works in communications and whose table were the only French natives among the tourists. “I had tears in my eyes because it’s been a while since she’s been here and she’s not been well.”

Across the table, Zelie Fiquet, 27, chimed in, “It gave me goosebumps.”

After about four hours of French flair, the opening ceremony has come to an end.

The most ambitious opening ceremony ever appeared to go smoothly today, without any notable mishaps or scheduling errors — except, of course, for the unfortunate rain.

Charles Coste, the oldest living French Olympic medalist, was among the athletes who carried the Olympic torch.

Coste, 100, was born in 1924 — the last time France hosted the Games. Coste won gold in the 1948 London Olympic Games in the team pursuit cycling event.

She is here!

Singer Céline Dion, who has been open about her struggles with stiff person syndrome, is giving what could be the final performance of the opening ceremony.

Her voice soars over Paris as she sings "Hymne à l’amour."

It's Dion's first performance since she disclosed her diagnosis in 2022.

After being carried by a number of athletes, the Olympic cauldron has officially been lit.

After its boat ride down the Seine, the Olympic torch was handed to Amélie Mauresmo, who ran it toward the Louvre before handing it off to Tony Parker, where the pair carried on their journey to the Louvre.

They were joined by three French Paralympic legends, and then by two handball players. The torch continued on through a parade of French Olympians including fencers, gymnasts, swimmers and cyclists.

A total of 24 athletes carried the torch.

A spectacular light show is being displayed on the Eiffel Tower as the torch makes its way to its final destination: the cauldron.

The torch was passed from soccer great Zinedine Zidane to tennis star Rafael Nadal.

Nadal brought the flame back to the Seine and boarded a boat with Serena Williams, Carl Lewis and Nadia Comăneci.

It is unclear where they are headed.

French President Emmanuel Macron has proclaimed the Games officially open.

Now we await the cauldron lighting.

For the first time, the Olympic Games will have an equal 50-50 ratio between male and female athletes, IOC President Thomas Bach said.

At the 1900 Paris Olympic Games, which were the first to include women at all, only 2.2% of athletes were women. That number has steadily risen, with the female field at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics reaching 48%.

As Paris hosts the Olympics for the third time, women officially comprise half of the Olympic field.

See more photos from today's lavish opening ceremony here.

After a gripping preamble, the Olympic flag was hoisted amid the singing of the Olympic anthem and continued rain showers.

In a hugely suspenseful moment, a masked person in silver walked the Olympic flag to its final destination as drums played in the background.

U.S. Olympian Ibtihaj Muhammad slammed France's decision to ban French athletes who observe the hijab from participating in the opening ceremony.

In a post on Instagram today, Muhammad wrote: "The Paris Olympics will be remembered as the Games that violated human rights — by banning French athletes in hijab."

"There is no equity when we exclude some. Shame on France," wrote Muhammad, who in 2016 became the first American woman to win a medal at the Olympics while wearing the religious head scarf.

"Shame on all of us who watched it happen and said nothing."

France enforces a strict principle of “laïcité," loosely translated as “secularism.” On Wednesday, David Lappartient, president of the French Olympic Committee, said that French Olympians are bound by the secular principles that apply to public sector workers in France, separating state and church, which includes a ban on hijabs.

A rider on a metal horse is galloping down the Seine, which is meant to represent the "Olympic spirit." The rider is wearing the Olympic flag.

On the broadcast, a collage of images from past Olympics has been intercut with the flag's journey.

Since the 1996 Atlanta Games, a rendition of "Imagine" by John Lennon and Yoko Ono has been played at numerous Olympics opening ceremonies.

During the delayed Tokyo Games, artists like John Legend and Keith Urban sang the song for the ceremony.

This year, Juliette Armanet performed the song alongside pianist Sofiane Pamart.

After a rendition of John Lennon's "Imagine," played on a piano engulfed in flames, the NBC broadcast displayed a message in English, followed by the French translation: "We stand and call for peace."

Star Philadelphia center Joel Embiid seemed unbothered by the fact that the opening ceremony of the Paris Games was happening around him as he chilled on Team USA's boat as it floated down the Seine.

Asked about his Olympic rings sunglasses during the broadcast, he said: "I look good in everything, but I just thought these look pretty good so I thought I might as well try."

As Team USA passed under the Eiffel Tower in the pouring rain, onlookers watched as the tower began to sparkle.

From under umbrellas, a group of fans from New Jersey whooped and cheered.

Susan Godun, 60, called out as the athletes came past, "Who cares about the rain? It’s really fun."

Paris may be the City of Light, but the Eiffel Tower shines brightest.

The iconic Parisian symbol typically sparkles every hour on the hour from sundown until 1 a.m.

Tonight, the tower sparkled as the French delegation sailed along the Seine River.

As rain pours down in Paris, the Olympic surfers competing in Tahiti waved to the camera during a brief cameo during the opening ceremony.

The host country is traditionally the final country in the parade. That's why France became the final boat to make its way down the Seine River.

There are 571 athletes competing on behalf of France.

As Team USA made its way down the river, the masked torchbearer returned. The person was captured on video dancing down a runway while holding the torch.

Team Australia came down the river followed by Team USA. They preceded Team France.

The 2032 Games will be held in Brisbane. Meanwhile, the 2028 Games will be hosted in Los Angeles.

The Team USA boat, the penultimate vessel to sail into view in the opening ceremony, represents 594 athletes from 46 states. The U.S. will host the next Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in four years.

They looked drenched, but joyous.

Ukraine has showed up in Paris with the fewest number of athletes since 1996.

Their delegation stands at 140 athletes as the country is embroiled in a brutal war with Russia, which is not allowed to compete in Paris due to the assault.

Team USA flag bearers Coco Gauff and LeBron James are just about drenched as they float down the Seine with their delegation. Their thin plastic ponchos aren't doing much to protect them from the downpour over Paris.

Gauff joked that she's "seeing a lot of water" today, but James added that "the rain can't stop us."

"It means a lot to me to be here representing USA and being with the GOAT here, Mr. LeBron James," Gauff said, adding that she's excited and "can't wait to do well in the Games."

In addition to the water, Gauff said she's had her sights on "amazing people in the crowd" and "amazing athletes."

James, an Olympic veteran, said he's "just honored" to have been named flag bearer.

"A lot of respect to Paris and France for giving us this opportunity to showcase our talents," James said.

Delegations from Russia and Belarus are notably absent from the opening ceremony. That's because in March, the International Olympic Committee banned both nations from participating in the celebration.

Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, and Moscow’s ally and Ukrainian neighbor, Belarus, has played a key support role in the aggression.

However, 32 athletes from those countries will still compete as “Individual Neutral Athletes,” or “AINs."

Read the full story here.

Just two hours to go in the opening ceremony, which began at 1:30 p.m. ET and will wrap around 5:30 p.m. ET.

Team USA has begun its journey down the Seine but has not yet reached the Eiffel Tower and the Trocadero.

The last time it rained at a Summer Olympics opening ceremony was at the 1952 Games in Helsinki, according to NBC broadcasters.

Seventy-two years later, the Paris opening ceremony is carrying on despite the rainy weather.

The Palestinian delegation, which has been recognized by the IOC since the 1996 Games in Atlanta, has eight athletes in the Games. They attend amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The athletes shared their boat with Panama, Papua New Guinea and Paraguay.

Watch Louis Vuitton design a custom trunk during the opening ceremony.

In an interview from the Team USA boat, world champion sprinter Noah Lyles told NBC correspondents that he plans to not only win his first Olympic gold medal, but double in the men's 100-meter and the 200-meter.

"I think it serves my legacy as being one of the greatest," Lyles said of the prospect of becoming the first since Usain Bolt to win both events at the Olympics.

Lyles, who had "ICON" painted on his fingernails, also expressed his love for the Olympics, noting "we didn’t get to experience any of this in 2021" when the Covid pandemic called for a more subdued event.

“I just love seeing moments made,” Lyles said. “That’s what I like to do as a performer.”

Read more in the full story here.

Models are showcasing some of France's fiercest looks on a runway atop the Seine.

The costumes are lavish and loud, with lots of sparkles, feathers and textures, and one model with matching, bedazzled prosthetic legs.

Algerian-French rapper Rim'K performed, nodding during his performance to Snoop Dogg (who appeared to be enjoying the performance as he danced along).

The rain seemed to be getting heavier as Rim'K finished his performance.

If it were up to the internet, Team Mongolia’s uniforms for the Paris Olympics would win gold in the competition for most drip. 

The uniforms, by Mongolian couture brand Michel & Amazonka, have a hold on people across social media. Fans have been praising the striking designs and intricately embroidered vests, dresses and accessories that heavily feature cultural motifs and are being worn during the opening ceremony.

Read the full story here.

Under the Eiffel Tower, the crowds are waiting for the boats to arrive. On the bank by the Pont de l’Alma, they are packed together. The bridge itself is a sea of big white umbrellas to protect from the rain.

Giant screens are beaming the events farther up the river to the crowds where cheers regularly rise up into the evening air.

As Lady Gaga appeared, a massive cheer filled the air. On balconies along the Seine, watch parties run from taking pictures of the river to seeing the TV close-up of Gaga’s performance.

Video game fans on social media are wondering if the masked torchbearer could be Arno, a figure from the "Assassin's Creed" franchise.

Arno is a "master assassin" for the "French Brotherhood" in the game and runs across rooftops and city streets. He also dresses like the torchbearer.

The "Assassin's Creed" account on X posted that "Arno might just be watching from above" after many speculated that he could be the person running through Paris.

Liechtenstein has never taken home a medal from the Summer Games, but has reached the podium in the Winter Games.

The principality sent only one athlete — Romano Püntener — to represent it at the Paris Games. Püntener will complete in mountain biking.

As the French anthem reverberated across the French capital, statues representing women in French history who had remarkable accomplishments stand out along the Seine.

Among them are French film pioneer Alice Guy and Simone Veil, former president of the European Parliament.

The statues were erected after creative planners for the ceremonies realized that four out of five statues in Paris represented men.

After her performance, Lady Gaga posted to Instagram about feeling overwhelmed by the experience.

She referenced Zizi Jeanmaire, who inspired her performance, and explained how Jeanmaire inspired Gaga's own career.

"Zizi starred in Cole Porter’s musical 'Anything Goes' which was my first jazz release. Although I am not a French artist, I have always felt a very special connection with French people and singing French music," she wrote.

Gaga discussed collaborating with French designers, brushing up on French dance styles and other skills to make her performance as authentically French as possible.

"I bet you didn’t know I used to dance at a 60’s French party on the lower east side when I was first starting out!" she wrote. "I hope you love this performance as much as I do. And to everyone in France, thank you so much for welcoming me to your country to sing in honor of you—it’s a gift I’ll never forget!"

The next segment of the opening ceremony, sportivité, began with what appeared to be a man in all white break-dancing along the Seine.

Breaking will make its debut as an Olympic sport in Paris on Aug. 9-10.

French mezzo-soprano Axelle Saint-Cirel sang a majestic rendition of the French national anthem, "La Marseillaise," from the roof of the Grand-Palais.

The climax of the song translates to, "To arms, citizens! Form your battalions. Let’s march, let’s march. That their impure blood should water our fields."

She delivered an emphatic reprise, opting up an octave in an appropriately showstopping finish.

The Minions are taking over Paris and trying their hand at boxing, archery, track and field, and other Olympic sports. As expected, the little yellow menaces are wreaking havoc — and we love that for them.

In reality, the Minions attended because Illumination Studios, which makes the "Despicable Me" franchise, is based in France. Illumination is a division of Universal Pictures, and Universal Pictures and NBC News are units of NBCUniversal.

As dusk descends and the rain pours, the river under the Eiffel Tower is full of lights and once again this is the City of Light.

The French national anthem echoes along the Seine. There are tears in the rain.

Just as frustrations were mounting outside the Seine security perimeter, where expectant crowds were unable to hear or see much of the opening ceremony, French influencer and content creator Super Boumj took matters into his own hands.

Boumj, who has 8.1 million followers on TikTok, showed up with his entourage and two large portable speakers.

What was a scene of drizzly anticlimax soon became a mini festival, with people waving flags — Chinese, Indian, Argentinian, Danish, Ivorian — and jumping to classics such as “YMCA” and the '90s Eurodance hit “Freed From Desire.”

With Boumj, real name Yanis Boumjiri, busy providing the entertainment, one of his entourage explained their presence.

“We thought the Olympic Games would be a great place to make people dance and make people love,” Thema Marzeliere, 26, said.

Phelps, who is the most-decorated Olympian of all time with 28 medals, returned to the Games as an NBC contributor.

We're officially about an hour into the Paris opening ceremony, with an expected three hours to go. The program should wrap around 5:30 p.m. ET, if all goes according to plan, and will be rebroadcast during prime time at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Grand pianos and rain don't normally mix well, but a rendition of “Jeux d’eau” by classical French composer Maurice Ravel captured the rainy Parisian atmosphere perfectly.

The title translates to "Fountains" or, more literally, "Water Games."

The delegation from Fiji is making its way through the Seine River now. The athletes have been going viral after videos from the Olympic Village highlighted their singing.

Team Great Britain re-created an iconic moment from "Titanic" from their boat in the opening ceremony.

"Near, far, wherever you are..." Team GB wrote in a post on X. Those are lyrics from the 1997 film's iconic song, "My Heart Will Go On" by Dion, who is rumored to be performing later today.

Lady Gaga appeared from behind a plumage of pink peacock feathers to the delight of Olympic fans during the opening ceremony.

NBC caught up with basketball stars A'ja Wilson and Steph Curry ahead of Team USA's float down the Seine.

On being a part of the women's team, Wilson said the Paris appearance is "legendary." Despite the rain, Wilson said she's just excited to be at the Olympic opening ceremony.

Curry, the Olympics rookie of the group, said being at the Games is "a wild experience for sure." He said he's always been a fan and is ready to represent his country on the court.

The rain has started pouring down with people grabbing umbrellas on balconies. The Greek boat, the first one in the procession, arrived at the Eiffel Tower a short while ago, and now boat after boat is sailing past to cheers from the river banks.

Our torchbearer, who is still wearing what appears to be a fencing mask, made his way through the iconic Louvre Museum.

The museum holds what is considered some of the most remarkable art in the world, including the "Mona Lisa."

The museum came alive during the ceremony, which has now moved on to its fraternité segment.

A trio of performers took viewers on a journey from the library to the bedroom, nodding to Paris' image as a city of love for all including the LGBTQ community.

Strutting down a bridge above the Seine, Nakamura played an electrifying rendition of her hit song.

The opening ceremony has transitioned into the second part of its national motto (liberté, égalité, fraternité). The égalité (equality) portion kicked off with the Republican Guard's band and with the lighting of the Olympic flame.

In March, pop star Aya Nakamura received an onslaught of racist attacks from far-right extremist groups in France after rumors circulated that she would perform during the opening ceremony.

French media reported at the time that the Mali-born Nakamura met with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss singing songs made famous by Édith Piaf. The organizers of the Paris Olympics came to her defense. Following the racist attacks, she posted to X, "You can be racist but not deaf."

The artist was among the performers today.

Huddled around a diner table, a French family takes in the opening ceremony on their tablet. They’ve traveled from the south of France to be here — Aurelie with her kids, ages 3 (Damien) and 7 (Abbygelle), and Aurielle’s 59-year-old mother.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the Olympics in your home country with your family,” Aurelie gushed through a large grin and her child in her lap.

We've arrived at the opera portion of our artistic immersion tour in Paris.

French-Swiss mezzo-soprano Marina Viotti sang "Habanera" from "Carmen," which was composed by Frenchman Georges Bizet.

Las Vegas visitors and residents are in for a treat: Highlights of the Paris opening ceremony will be broadcast on the Sphere tonight.

NBCUniversal announced today that segments of its opening ceremony coverage will light up the Las Vegas strip on the Exosphere — the official name of the outer LED surface of the Sphere — from 8 to 11 p.m. local time.

The broadcast is expected to include shots of Team USA's and Team France's boats finishing their floats down the Seine, passing the Eiffel Tower and the Trocadero, as well as the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.

The French are showing their range this evening. Not long after Lady Gaga’s dazzling performance in pink, French heavy metal rockers Gojira, clad in black, got heads banging with a dramatic balcony-edge performance. Straight after that? Opera.

To usher in the next segment of the opening ceremony, liberté, a number of headless women dressed in red — a call-out to Marie Antionette — appeared in the windows of a large French building.

Fire erupted along the Seine as heavy metal band Gojira rocked out.

The opening ceremony featured a French rendition of "Can You Hear the People Sing" from the musical "Les Misérables."

The musical-turned-movie is based on the novel of the same name by French author Victor Hugo.

The opening ceremony dancers synthesized a variety of modern dance styles, but ballet retained an elevated position.

One dancer did classical ballet steps on a Parisian rooftop, including an expressive adagio. Ballet is performed around the world, but much of the art form as we know it today was developed in Paris.

A pre-made video played during the opening ceremony appeared to show how the Paris 2024 medals were forged using materials from the Eiffel Tower.

Our now-famed hooded figure carried the torch from construction workers on various levels of the Eiffel Tower to an undisclosed location where the materials were then forged into Olympic medals.

In a portion of the ceremony celebrating French craftsmanship, all eyes were on the Notre-Dame, which was covered in scaffolding and appeared to have performers hanging off it.

The cathedral suffered from a devastating fire five years ago, damaging the vaulted wooden ceiling and spire. The Notre-Dame is expected to reopen in December after a long restoration process.

During the ceremony, the bells were rung for the first time since the fire.

The hooded, masked figure carrying the Olympic torch — an homage to the Phantom of the Opera — has recurred throughout the opening ceremony, zip lining across the Seine to the Louis Vuitton atelier.

Simone Biles is not at the opening ceremony as she preps for qualifiers on Sunday, but her parents were.

In an appearance with Hoda Kotb and Snoop Dogg, Nellie Biles said 17 members of their family were in Paris to cheer on Simone during her third Games.

"She is feeling really good," Nellie Biles said of Simone. "I spoke to her this morning and she's feeling great."

Gymnasts were advised to sit out of the opening ceremony with their competitions so soon because those participating today are expected to be on their feet for nine hours.

There’s a strangely muted atmosphere outside the perimeter. A large crowd of several hundred has gathered at a checkpoint on Avenue Victoria. There are cheers for various nations — and a mix of whoops and boos for Algeria, owing to France’s large North African diaspora. There was also applause for Lady Gaga.

However, there are no speakers here so people are mostly talking among themselves. The only visible big screen is around 100 yards away and partially blocked by three police vans.

A nearby fan zone outside City Hall has been commandeered for a ticket-only watch party.

“I think it’s really amazing to be here but I wish there were more screens and speakers,” said Erin Gorsline, 31, who works in artificial intelligence and has traveled from New York with friends.

Lady Gaga may not be French, but she honored the host country with a distinctly French opening ceremony performance of “Mon truc en plumes.”

The song translates to “My thing with feathers.” Gaga herself wore a giant white plume. She also played an interlude of “La Vie en Rose” on piano during the performance.

Her performance was met with uproarious applause.

Giant screens are beaming the opening ceremony to crowds lined up on the Seine River. Cheers are heard regularly — especially after Lady Gaga appeared.

On balconies along the Seine, people at watch parties run from taking pictures of the river to their TV screens to get close-up views of Gaga’s performance.

Noah Lyles, who is the reigning world champion in the 100 meter and the 200 meter, will set sail on the Team USA boat later in the ceremony.

Lyles was shown on the Peacock broadcast sporting an Olympic necklace and lining up with the rest of the American delegation.

The U.S. boat will come toward the end of the Parade of Nations.

Sorel Cruz and her friends hoped to fly the Puerto Rican flag at the opening ceremony.

“But it was way too expensive!” she said just yards from the Seine, having to watch it on a big screen with limited sound.

She's here! Behind fans of pink feathers, Lady Gaga emerges in a black gown and wishes "Bonsoir and Bienvenue" to the viewers.

Americans aren’t the only people who know how to embrace red, white and blue. These games mark a rare chance for the French to show their patriotism in full blue, white and red, said Dr. Matthew Echivard.

“I want the world to know we are very proud of our country,” the cardiologist said, dressed in all his French glory. “This event is a very important chance to show this.”

Smaller teams like Argentina, Saudi Arabia and Armenia are sharing boats. There are 100 boats total making their way through the opening ceremony parade.

Former President Barack Obama wished Team USA good luck at the Olympics and Paralympics.

"You represent the best of the best in our country — and your talent, hard work, and determination make us proud," Obama wrote on X.

The Olympic delegation from Greece is the first to sail down the Seine.

It's tradition for Greece to lead the other countries in the procession — a nod to the Olympics' birthplace in Ancient Greece 3,000 years ago, and its role as the first modern host of the Games in 1896.

The parade has begun and the second team boat to make it through the water is the Refugee Team, which represents displaced people from seven different countries and has 37 athletes.

A burst of blue, white and red smoke kicked off the theatrics as Olympians started their 3-mile journey down the Seine River.

When the colors of the French flag were ejected in a beautiful bouquet from the Austerlitz Bridge, there was an audible gasp from a crowd of diners atop the Galeries Lafayette almost 2 miles away.

The first section of the Paris ceremony — dubbed Enchanté — is underway.

Each of the ceremony's sections will have a distinct title. This one kicked off with the first of the athlete boats, including Greece and Afghanistan.

NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo is carrying the flag for Greece, and British springboard diver (and TV personality) Tom Daley will carry for Great Britain. Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina will carry her country's flag.

Pita Taufatofua, who has gone viral in past opening ceremonies for his oiled-up and shirtless appearance while carrying the flag for Tonga, didn’t qualify for these Games. 

There is a full list of flag bearers from the IOC here.

If you're wondering what happens if someone falls in the river ... don't worry, there are rescue boats ready in case of an emergency.

French President Emmanuel Macron and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach embraced as an opening ceremony years in the making kicked off in Paris.

It has begun! The Olympic torch has set sail and is beginning its 3-mile trip down the Seine for the opening ceremony.

An opening video showcasing the journey of the torch paid homage to French writer Gaston Leroux's novel "The Phantom of the Opera," as a hooded figure guided the torch on a boat through the river.

The opening ceremony will run along the Seine in Paris from the Austerlitz Bridge to the area near the Eiffel Tower.

Zidane saved the day by taking the torch from the stadium on a journey to the Seine.

Although he did not play in an Olympics game, Zidane led France to a win in the 1998 World Cup. Zidane, who also managed Real Madrid, is considered by many as one of the greatest soccer players of all time.

The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games has begun.

French security officials have described the Paris Olympic Games as an opportunity for terrorist and radical groups.

An Islamist terrorist attack is the biggest potential threat to the Games, according to authorities, in particular the Islamic State (IS) and its Central Asian offshoot the Islamic State Khorasan Province group, responsible for the March 2024 Moscow attack.

France’s domestic intelligence service has also highlighted the threat of a so-called homegrown attacker already in France, inspired by online content or directed by groups outside the country.

Eric and Yulia Cobb are not only Olympics super fans — they owe their marriage to the Games.

Lining up to enter the opening ceremony bleachers overlooking the Seine, the pair were unmissable in head-to-toe stars-and-stripes regalia.

Eric is from San Diego and Yulia from Russia. They met at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, and Paris will be their fifth Games together (Eric's 11th!).

“We just don’t know what to expect during the opening ceremony,” said Yulia, 37, who now works as an accountant in San Diego.

“The thing I’m looking forward to most is seeing all the countries together and happy," she said.

According to NBC News correspondent Steve Kornacki, the U.S. delegation competing in Paris is the largest competing at the Games, with 594 athletes.

Nearly half (254) of these athletes are returning Olympians and 122 are already Olympic medalists.

Leading the medal hauls are swimmers Katie Ledecky (10) and Caeleb Dressel (7), gymnast Simone Biles (7) and basketball player Diana Taurasi (5).

Athletes took to TikTok to share their patriotic outfits ahead of the opening ceremony. Aleah Finnegan, a former U.S. gymnast who now represents the Philippines, shared a sneak peek at the nation's intricate outfit for the ceremony.

Australian flag bearer and world champion canoer Jessica Fox waved a mini version of the Australian flag ahead of the ceremony and shared her outfit, featuring a teal formal blazer that bears the names of Australian gold medalists emblazoned on the inner lining.

The Dutch skateboarding team looked primed for a long day of walking and sailing down the Seine, sporting white denim jackets and their national colors.

Days after launching her presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris sent U.S. Olympians good wishes from Washington.

"Team USA, we are so proud of all you. So go to Paris, slay, and we'll see you soon. You are the best of the best and we're so proud of you. Have fun, too," Harris said in a video posted to X.

Gloomy weather won't prevent Team Philippines from making the most of its Olympic moment.

A group of Filipino athletes appear to be ready for the rain ahead of the ceremony, wearing ponchos to protect their ornate "barong tagalog" outfits, according to an image posted to the One Sports Instagram account.

Williams, who is a four-time gold medalist, made an appearance on the red carpet with her husband, Alexis Ohanian, and daughter Olympia.

She said she's "a little jealous" that she didn't get to play an Olympic match at Stade Roland-Garros, the venue of the French Open, like this year's competitors.

When asked about Gauff's position as flag bearer at this year's opening ceremony, Williams said she was "so excited" to see the player.

"I'm just so happy for her," Williams said.

The mascot of the Paris Olympic Games may not seem all that mighty to those outside the host country, but that little red hat, known as a Phrygian cap (or a liberty cap), is a symbol of the French liberation.

The Phryges (pronounced “FREE-jes”) were announced as the mascots of the Paris Games in November 2022. Paris 2024 said the caps are “sporty, love to party ... and are so French.”

But the little red caps — one each for the Olympics and the Paralympics — have so much more to them than meets the eye.

Read the full story here.

Earlier today, U.S. skateboarders Jagger Eaton, Nyjah Huston and Chris Joslin were scoping out the official Olympic skate park in Plaza de Concorde, in front of the ancient Egyptian Luxor Obelisk.

I asked Huston if he was looking forward to finally throwing everything out there after having to be careful not to get injured before the Games.

“It’s just full send, it’s no hesitations, and I love that feeling,” he said.

Eaton was also stoked. In Tokyo, he skated to bronze with a broken ankle. But this time he was fully healed and ready for the biggest stage on the planet.

Chris Joslin, the thrashiest skater I’ve ever seen, was nowhere to be found during the walkthrough but made his way over after.

“I just want to go find some place to skate,” he said.

I asked Joslin if he dreamed of the Olympics as a kid.

“No, and if you are doing it that way … I dunno,” he said. “I think skateboarding’s not really about that. ... It’s the one sport where you do it cause you love it.”

As for what he wants from these Games, he said, “I have zero expectations. I’m just here to ride my skateboard and hopefully land some tricks.”

The U.S. gymnastics team has historically opted out of the opening ceremony. Their first round of Olympic competition kicks off this weekend with qualification.

At a news conference in May, USA Gymnastics CEO Li Li Leung told reporters that athletes attending the ceremony should "plan to be on their feet for nine hours."

While she said the gymnasts will be allowed to make their own decision regarding attendance, it will be "discouraged" due to the physical toll.

About an hour before the opening ceremony kicked off, tourists from around the world were searching for spots to watch the festivities.

"It’s my first time in Paris. We’ve got tickets to watch the fencing, and it’s at the Grand Palais," said Juan Sebastian Vintimilla from Ecuador, who was looking for a fan zone to watch the opening ceremony.

Despite some drizzling before kickoff, fans were undeterred. "No, the rain won’t bother me. It happens," said Stephanie Chung from China.

 

Holt, host of "Nightly News," posted a video to Instagram today from Paris reflecting on how this is his 11th (!) time at the Olympics.

"Still haven't won a medal, by the way, but a guy can hope," he joked.

The U.S. figure skating team will finally be honored as gold medalists at a special medal ceremony during the Paris Games.

The skaters earned silver at the 2022 Beijing Games in the team event, behind the Russian Olympic Committee, but are being elevated to the top of the podium after the Court of Arbitration for Sport, or CAS, announced yesterday that it was rejecting the ROC's final appeal of punishments handed to them after a doping scandal involving 15-year-old Kamila Valieva plagued the event in Beijing.

"The panel deliberated and concluded that the results of Ms. Valieva in the Olympic figure skating team event were correctly disqualified," CAS said in its statement.

The International Olympic Committee said the CAS decision came "just in time" to perform a medal ceremony in Paris, which will take place during the Paris Games and will award Japan the silver medal.

Nine U.S. figure skaters will receive gold medals: Nathan Chen, Vincent Zhou, Karen Chen, Alexa Knierim, Brandon Frazier, Madison Chock, Evan Bates, Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue.

The Olympics have been posited as an opportunity for the global community to achieve “peace through sport,” with the International Olympic Committee declaring its opposition to politicization. 

But the Games have always reflected the geopolitical climate of the times. The presence of certain countries and the absence of others can highlight existing tensions or alliances. Athletes have also used the winners podium to make statements about various causes. 

Protests date as far back as the 1906 Games in Athens, Greece, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Some historic demonstrations include U.S. track runners John Carlos and Tommie Smith’s Black Power salute at the 1968 Mexico City Games during the height of the Civil Rights Movement; the boycotting of the 1976 Montreal Games by 22 African countries in response to the inclusion of New Zealand's rugby team, which had toured in apartheid South Africa; and decisions by various Western leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama, to attend the opening ceremony of the 2014 Sochi Games to protest human rights issues in Russia.

Dancers, seen below, were photographed during a rehearsal on the Pont Neuf before the opening ceremony.

The opening ceremony kicks off in less than an hour.

French historian and bestselling author Patrick Boucheron was tapped two years ago to plan the opening ceremony with a team of five French cultural superstars from the French worlds of literature, television, cinema and theater. 

Boucheron, 58, told NBC News that the team aimed to create an inclusive “portrait of Paris” that reflects an evolving, diverse city with many cultural influences.

“It’s not a show about French history,” he said.

In fact, viewers can expect nods to the Paris portrayed in the Netflix hit “Emily in Paris,” starring Lily Collins as an American navigating the French capital while speaking no French, and Amélie Poulain, star of the 2001 French movie that featured the charming cobbled streets of the Montmartre neighborhood. 

Grande and Erivo sported their "Wicked" characters' signature colors (pink and green) when walking the red carpet ahead of the Olympics opening ceremony.

Erivo said this is the first time she's been able to attend the Games in person.

"It's very overwhelming," Grande said of being in Paris. "We're very excited."

It is the world's biggest sporting stage, but should the arts also feature at the Olympic Games? Musician-turned-designer Pharrell Williams thinks so.

Competitions related to the arts previously featured in the Games from 1912 until they were scrapped following the 1948 Olympics with the International Olympic Committee deciding the professional status of the artists who participated didn't fit in with the Olympics' amateur ethos. But with the Games coming to Los Angeles in 2028, Williams has called for their reintroduction.

“We get to remind people that at one point, the Olympics actually had the arts as a section that ran all these competitions,” Williams, now Louis Vuitton's creative director for men's collections, said ahead of the fashion house's star-studded party in Paris last night that raised funds for the Olympic refugees' team. “Sculpture, architecture, visual arts. The idea we get to put the arts back in. ... Why not take this moment to bring awareness?”

An hour before the opening ceremony, the Paris Metro transit system headed into downtown is busy but not jam-packed.

The M1 line had its fair share of national team uniforms, lanyards and people presumably dressed up for the big night.

Though it has been raining on and off today, the weather is muggy and remains in the 70s going into the evening.

“Oh my god, that’s all of Team USA!”

It’s the excited whisper of what has to be one of the luckiest little skateboard aficionados in all of Paris, a little boy who cruised through the small Skate Park Léon Cladel on a penny board and zoomed right past U.S. skateboarder Nyjah Huston, who was sitting next to some friends.

“Nice, but you need a real board,” Huston laughs, and the kid, in shock, quickly disappears.

Soon, Olympic bronze medalist Jagger Eaton and the legendary Chris Joslin pull up on their boards to the skate park tucked in between the Rue Montmarte and Rue Rèaumur.

Over the next hour, the air filled with the sounds of Parisian street life mixing with the grinding of trucks on rails, the momentary silence of catching air, the violent crack of wheels snapping back down onto concrete.

Thousands of passengers were stuck at train stations in Paris today after sabotage affected France’s high-speed train network on the day of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.

On the red carpet ahead of the opening ceremony, Legend, alongside his wife, Chrissy Teigen, and two of their children, said he was excited to watch the ceremony in person for the first time.

The athlete Legend said he's most excited to see? Simone Biles.

Light rain began to fall on Paris about two hours before showtime. Some fans reached for their umbrellas and waterproof coats, while a majority simply chose to brave the weather.

Temperatures are still in the low 70s, with the minor rain forecast to end at about 6:30 p.m. local time, and this Paris crowd seemed to want to go with the flow without extra gear.

Some members of the Gendarmerie nationale, a police force attached to the French military, greeted each guest with a thorough examination of their bags. They requested to take at least one sip of each bottle of water being brought inside.

From berets to boxers, Olympic athletes are showing off all the free gifts they’ve been showered with from a variety of brands for fighting to bring home the gold.

A new crop of TikTok videos have taken over the social media app in something of a “What’s in my gear bag?” trend as athletes show fans what they’ve been given. The brands involved include Nike, Ralph Lauren, Adidas and Lululemon.

It has become a storied tradition for athletes to give viewers a behind-the-scenes look of the Olympic Village, which serves as their home for weeks as they gather for the Games. Social media has offered individual competitors a chance to connect with fans on a more personal level.

Read the full story here.

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass is in Paris for the opening ceremony, where she's already gearing up for the 2028 Olympics.

The U.S. will host its ninth Olympics when the Games head to L.A. in four years. Bass wrote in a post on X that she met with "regional partners around Paris to learn more about their joint approach to hosting the games."

"Los Angeles will be READY in 2028 — not just as a city, but as a region," she wrote.

Mikko Anderson, an American living in Paris, could not believe her luck when she won four tickets to the opening ceremony from an Olympic lottery.

"When I hit that button, the submit button, I’m not a religious person, but I did a little prayer," she said.

Anderson and her husband were wearing matching shirts — celebrating their family's roots — with the flags of the United States, France and Netherlands. Her husband, who is Dutch, is excited to meet fans from all over the world.

The couple lives near the Eiffel Tower and were anxious about going to the opening ceremony because tickets were $1,000 apiece. They were so overjoyed when they won the lottery she almost started to cry.

This is something they’ve been looking forward to for several months.

"It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity," she said.

A 40-page PDF lays out all the rules and instructions on how to view the opening ceremony. As of this morning they were still reading through it but very excited.

Canada’s women’s soccer team will be without its head coach as it attempts to win back-to-back gold medals after she was suspended amid drone-spying allegations in the opening days of the Paris Games.

The Canadian Olympic Committee said Thursday that head coach Bev Priestman had been suspended and that assistant coach Andy Spence would lead the defending gold medal team throughout the competition.

Priestman will remain suspended until the committee completes an independent external review of the incident in which a drone was allegedly used to spy on a New Zealand team practice, the group said.

Read the full story here.

Today, tennis star Coco Gauff, 20, will make history as the youngest U.S. flag bearer in Olympic history. She will represent the U.S. alongside NBA All-Star LeBron James.

“I just want to say thank you to my fellow team usa olympians/athletes for voting and choosing me for this incredible honor to be the flag bearer for the opening ceremony,” Gauff posted Wednesday on X after the news was announced. “Thank you so much. I am incredibly honored.”

She told NBC’s “TODAY” show that she was “shocked” to have been chosen and had “no words” about it. Gauff is also the first American tennis star to carry the flag at the Olympics. 

Gauff, who won the U.S. Open last year and the French Open in doubles this year, will compete in the women’s singles and doubles competitions in Paris, as well as the mixed doubles. She missed the Tokyo Olympics after she tested positive for Covid days before the Games were set to begin.

Yes, you did just see Snoop Dogg carrying the Olympic torch.

The rapper carried the torch today, the last day of its relay, through Saint-Denis, north of Paris. He danced and waved to cheering crowds just hours before the Paris Games’ opening ceremony.

“I look at this as a prestigious honor and something that I truly respect. I would have never dreamed of nothing like this,” Snoop said of his inclusion in the Paris Games and his role as torch bearer. “I’m going to be on my best behavior. I’m going to be on my best athleticism. I’ll be able to breathe slow to walk fast and hold the torch with a smile on my face, because I realize how prestigious this event is.”

It isn’t the last you’ll see of Snoop — he’s also a prime-time correspondent for NBC News during the duration of the Games, where he’ll be exploring Parisian landmarks and joining in on the fun of the various competitions.