For the first time in the history of the Olympic Summer Games, the Opening Ceremony didn’t take place in a stadium. Paris 2024 is breaking new ground by bringing sports into the city and the same will be true of the Opening Ceremony, set to be held in the heart of the city along its main artery: the Seine.

In particular, the Games opened at the Seine, where dozens of boats carried athletes across a 6km route in the river. These boats were equipped with cameras to allow television and online viewers to see the athletes up close.

Eighty giant screens and strategically placed speakers allow everyone to enjoy the magical atmosphere of this show reverberating throughout the French capital. The Opening Ceremony for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 is the largest in Games history. It is open to all: residents from Paris and its region, as well as visitors from all over France and around the world.

The ceremony opened with a high-energy video featuring French soccer legend Zinedine Zidane and a masked figure designed to pay homage to the original version of “The Phantom of the Opera”. Lady Gaga took the stage for a medley of cabaret numbers, including the 1960s-era “Mon Truc En Plumes”.

The various song-and-dance acts paid tribute to the can-can style, “Les Misérables”, “Carmen”, and other hallmarks of French culture. French Malian pop star Aya Nakamura, who faced racist attacks in the lead-up to the Games, sang her hit “Djadja”.

The Olympic games this year will run from July 26 to August 11. A total of 10,500 athletes representing 206 countries are competing in this year’s Olympics. Athletes will be competing for 329 gold medals across 32 sports.