The opening ceremony had more Hollywood than Nouvelle Vague, as well as rock, pop and lots of dance.
The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games made history this Friday (26/7) as the first to take place outside a stadium. The event featured a series of presentations along the Seine and at tourist attractions in the French capital, which took place under heavy rain. Highlights included performances by singers Lady Gaga and Celine Dion, an animated adventure by the Minions, a heavy metal show at the Bastille, a fashion show on a bridge, a disco party on the Seine, and boats full of global athletes.
Lady Gaga’s performance took place right at the start of the event, with the transformation of a golden staircase on the banks of the Seine into an open-air stage. The American singer appeared in a plumage of pink feathers to sing “Mon Truc en Plume”, which Zizi Jeanmarie, Yves Saint Laurent’s muse, immortalized in a musical performance in 1961.
The highlight was the Bastille Parade, with scenes from the musical “Les Misérables” and a show by the French metal band Gojira. But all the pop-rock beats were covered, with French dance music and rap performances, as well as a nonsensical cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Among the stars, it’s worth mentioning the singer Aya Nakamura, an immigrant from Maui, who suffered racist attacks in France when her name emerged as an artist at the opening of the Olympics.
The xenophobia that almost brought the far right to power in France was confronted throughout the event with scenes of inclusion, highlighting the French motto Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité. There was also a long walk on the Pont Debilly, near the Eiffel Tower, where representatives of the local LGBTQ+ community organized a party with parades and lots of dancing, in a celebration of Parisian fashion and the great French gay night and house music. DJ Barbara Butch, an LGBTQ+ icon in Paris, took charge of the DJing, playing several hits of the national electronic scene, from Stardust and Justice to David Guetta.
The Hollywood moment was due to the inclusion of an animated short film featuring the Minions, who allegedly stole the Mona Lisa from the Louvre Museum. The tenuous relationship between Universal Studios’ marketing and the event was justified by the fact that Pierre Coffin, creator, voice actor and director of the “Despicable Me/Minons” films, is French. New wave? The organizers of the Paris Olympic Games didn’t even remember.
After a parade of legendary athletes, from Zinedine Zidane to Nadia Comaneci, it was Celine Dion who closed the event. The Canadian singer appeared singing Edith Piaf’s classic “La Vie en Rose” at the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was her first performance in four years, since she was diagnosed with stiff person syndrome, which limits her movement and affects her vocal cords. The performance showed that she has lost none of the strength in her voice.
Discover some of the highlights from the opening of the Paris Games.
It’s really RIDICULOUS, isn’t it? @everaldomarques? 😍 Lady Gaga just at the opening of the Olympic Games! That’s it #Paris2024! #NoGeOlympics pic.twitter.com/lSsis4pl8F
—ge (@geglobo) July 26, 2024
Amazing performance by Aya Nakamura on these big pipes, accompanied by the Garde Républicaine! 🔥
👉 https://t.co/qsB1Tdiqg5#ceremoniesandouverture #paris2024 pic.twitter.com/k24WdjseKW
— French TV (@FranceTV) July 26, 2024
Gojira unveiled at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games pic.twitter.com/hLHqLqKUfG
— SummaInferno (@summainferno) July 26, 2024
LOST? Rewatch the Minions animation at the opening of the Paris 2024 Olympics
Pierre Coffin, French, is the creator and main voice actor of the characters#Olympic Games #Opening Ceremony #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/6rvJr2QR26
— Romulo Dias 🇧🇷 (@RomuloBDias) July 26, 2024
💅 French fashion in the spotlight, with a fashion show accompanied by a DJ set by Barbara Butch.#Olympic Games #Opening Ceremony #ParisOlympics2024 #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/Jab1seSN4E
— Ri (@Crafteese) July 26, 2024
WOW Celine Dion just performed for the first time in four years on the Eiffel Tower for the #Olympic Games #Opening Ceremony and I absolutely destroyed it….I’m not crying at all, you’re crying 🥹 it was amazing pic.twitter.com/TYLefG0ReY
— Wu Tang is for kids (@WUTangKids) July 26, 2024
Source: Terra
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
