The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics is scheduled to kick off at 12:30 p.m. CDT with athletes floating down the Seine River.
How to watch the Paris Olympics opening ceremony
Nearly 7,000 athletes will navigate the Seine on scores of boats.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
July 26, 2024 at 4:21PM
Nearly 7,000 athletes will navigate the Seine on scores of boats in a departure from the stadium processions typical of previous Olympic games. The watery procession will begin at the Austerlitz Bridge and float 3.7 miles west, past Notre Dame, the Louvre and several Olympic venues, to the Pont d’Iéna bridge. The remaining festivities — including the Olympic cauldron lighting — will take place onshore, across the river from the Eiffel Tower. French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to speak. Dancers and artists will also perform during the spectacle.
NBC will kick off its live coverage with a pre-show at 11 a.m. The ceremony will also stream on Peacock and NBC Olympics. NBC will re-air the ceremony for U.S. audiences at 6:30 p.m. CDT.
Friday’s arson attacks are causing travel delays across France and may impact athletes’ travel to Olympic venues.
Keep an eye out for Minnesotan Olympians like Suni Lee, the Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards and Lynx forward Napheesa Collier. First-time Olympian Coco Gauff and basketball legend LeBron James will bear the U.S. flag. Grammy winner Kelly Clarkson, former football quarterback Peyton Manning and NBC’s Mike Tirico will host.
These Minnesotans are poised to play prominent roles in state and national politics in the coming years.
