While the 2024 Olympics officially started on Wednesday, the Opening Ceremony of the Paris Games will take place this afternoon.
In years past, the Opening Ceremony to any Olympic Games has typically taken place in an Olympic stadium, however, the Paris 2024 planning committee is taking things to the streets and waterways.
Spectators will line both sides of the Seine River for a 3.7-mile stretch, while athletes will be in the Seine as the Parade of Nations will utilize floats.
By the end of the ceremony, the Olympic flame will officially be lit, signifying the games’ opening.
As Paris is only six hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, the opening ceremony will air live at a (somewhat) normal time: 1:30 p.m. ET. If you want to tune into the spectacle, be it on Peacock or a live TV streaming service, we compiled everything you need to know below.
2024 Olympics opening ceremony date and time: When is the Olympics opening ceremony start time?
The 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony begins today, July 26, at 1:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. Paris time), and is expected to last roughly four hours. The opening ceremony will air live on NBC and stream on Peacock.
How to watch the 2024 Olympics opening ceremony for free:
If you’re a cord-cutter, a live TV streaming service will be the best way to stream the opening ceremony for free. Both of the services below include NBC in base plans and come with a free trial that you can continue to use to watch more Olympic action.
- DIRECTV Stream: five days free, then $79.99/month
- Hulu + Live TV: three days free, then $76.99/month
How to watch the 2024 Olympics opening ceremony on Peacock:
The official streaming home of the 2024 Olympics is Peacock, the streaming service from NBCUniversal. This year, Peacock is broadcasting over 5,000 hours of live coverage, which includes all 329 medal events and every single event leading up to them.
Peacock costs $7.99/month with ads and $13.99/month without ads, and since the Olympics wrap up on August 11, you’ll only need one month to watch the entire 2024 Games.
2024 PARIS OLYMPICS
- Today’s schedule, results, medal counts and more updates
- Gymnast Levi Jung-Ruivivar’s run at 2024 Olympics nearly ends after shock health scare
- Canada soccer removes coach Bev Priestman after Spygate Olympic drone scandal
- Simone Biles looking unstoppable in Olympics practice after ‘twisties’ fallout
Who will appear during the 2024 Olympics opening ceremony?
NBC’s Mike Tirico will host the NBC/Peacock broadcast of the opening ceremony alongside Kelly Clarkson and Peyton Manning. “Today” hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb will broadcast from a bridge along the parade route. Over 3,000 dancers and 6,000 athletes are set to appear during the opening ceremony.
Though not confirmed yet, reports suggest Lady Gaga and Celine Dion may perform during the opening ceremony as both singers are currently in Paris. Also, French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed earlier this year that R&B singer Aya Nakamura will perform.
Parade of Nations order: When will Team USA appear? Who are Team USA’s flag bearers?
This year’s parade of nations, in which each national delegation enters the opening ceremony with their country’s flag, will take place down the Seine River, rather than the traditional stadium. Each of the 205 countries will enter on a float.
As is tradition, Greece will lead off the parade, as the birthplace of the Olympic Games, then countries will enter alphabetically — using the French name of each country to determine this — save for Australia, the United States, and France. Australia will be the 203rd country as the host of the 2032 Summer Olympics.
Team USA will enter 204th — second-to-last — this year as the next Summer Olympics host country with NBA all-star LeBron James and reigning U.S. Open champ Coco Gauff serving as flagbearers.
Finally, the host country France will end the Parade of Nations.
When is the 2024 Olympics closing ceremony?
The 2024 Paris Olympics will come to an end on August 11 at 3:00 p.m. ET, when the closing ceremony will broadcast live on NBC and Peacock with hosts Mike Tirico and Jimmy Fallon.
Why Trust Post Wanted by the New York Post
This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Writer/Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping and New York Post’s streaming property, Decider. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on each streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. Prior to joining Decider and New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews.