- 26 Jul 2024 - 21:40(21:40 GMT)
Goodbye for now
That’s it from our live coverage of the Opening Ceremony of the Paris Olympics 2024.
The games are officially open, and we, here at Al Jazeera, are also ready to go.
The events will come thick and fast, and we’ll bring you all the top action.
You can follow on Al Jazeera’s dedicated Paris 2024 Olympics tournament page with all the news and features, as well as event build-up and live text commentary on selected football, basketball, tennis and boxing fixtures.
Stay informed with real-time updates from Paris 2024 with our Olympics events calendar, medal table and results pages.
For now, though – from me, Kevin Hand – it’s goodbye.
- 26 Jul 2024 - 21:37(21:37 GMT)
Let the party begin
Well, the Olympics are officially open, but the events themselves are already well under way.
Here on Al Jazeera Sport, we’ve already brought you the opening day of the men’s and women’s football on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.
We’ve got more action for you on Saturday in basketball as France take on Brazil, while in a huge opening Group C contest, Serbia face Team USA on Sunday.
We’ll also bring you Spain against the Dominican Republic in the men’s football.
- 26 Jul 2024 - 21:33(21:33 GMT)
An Opening Ceremony of firsts
The organisers of the Opening Ceremony were determined to make the Paris 2024 event a unique spectacle and they certainly did that.
The celebration of the city was the desire, rather than the traditional focus on the Olympic Stadium.
The red carpet, the Seine setting and the elevated Cauldron to finish were all firsts for the Olympics.
It has certainly set a new precedent for the games going forward, having expanded beyond a stadium to a huge part of one of the world’s biggest cities.
Advertisement - 26 Jul 2024 - 21:26(21:26 GMT)
Celine Dion takes over the proceedings
The Canadian singer, born in Quebec, takes to the mic below the Eiffel Tower as attention returns to the Trocadero.
- 26 Jul 2024 - 21:24(21:24 GMT)
The hot-air balloon takes flight
The Cauldron will be alight, above Paris, for the duration of the Games in another first in Olympic history.
Huge cheers greet the elevation of the balloon.
The Olympic Cauldron is seen after being lit during the Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics [Mike Blake/Reuters] - 26 Jul 2024 - 21:23(21:23 GMT)
The Cauldron is revealed
The torch will light a Cauldron that sits below a hot-air balloon.
The flames are seven metres wide.
The final torchbearers are French former sprinter Marie-Jose Perec and French judoka Teddy Riner, who arrive to light the Olympic Cauldron.
The torchbearers, French former sprinter Marie-Jose Perec and French judoka Teddy Riner, arrive to light the Olympic Cauldron during the Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games [Mohd Rasfan/AFP] 
The torchbearers Marie-Jose Perec and French judoka Teddy Riner arrive to light the Olympic Cauldron [Mohd Rasfan/AFP] - 26 Jul 2024 - 21:16(21:16 GMT)
The torch arrives at La Louvre
The former palace of the French royal family will not host the Olympic Cauldron as the torch is run past the museum.
The wait goes on to reveal where the flame will be lit.
French former basketball player Tony Parker holds the Olympic torch next to French athlete and France’s Paralympic flag bearer, Nantenin Keita (third from the left) and Alexis Hanquinquant (left) and French Paralympic athlete Marie-Amelie Le Fur (second left) during the opening ceremony, as the Louvre Museum and the Pyramid are seen in the background [Olivier Morin/AFP] - 26 Jul 2024 - 21:11(21:11 GMT)
The torch approaches La Louvre
It’s possible this could be the location for the Olympic Cauldron. Meantime, the Eiffel Tower remains an ongoing light show with the colours now turning from what had been a light blue to the tricolour of France.
The Eiffel Tower is seen lit up as spectators gather in stands along the river Seine during the Opening Ceremony [Stefan Wermuth/Reuters] - 26 Jul 2024 - 21:05(21:05 GMT)
The Olympic Cauldron will not be staged at the Eiffel Tower
To everyone’s surprise Nadal takes the torch to a speedboat on the Seine where American tennis player Serena Williams rides along and takes the torch.
We all await to find our where the Cauldron will be placed for the Games. Team USA sprinter Carl Lewis is also aboard the vessel.
It’s a considerable journey but we are none the wiser as to where it will finish.
Advertisement - 26 Jul 2024 - 21:02(21:02 GMT)
The Eiffel Tower is adorned in light
A light show focused on the tower, and beamed from within the giant structure, in a spectacular display.
General view of a light show on the Eiffel Tower during the Opening Ceremony [Stephanie Lecocq/Reuters] - 26 Jul 2024 - 21:00(21:00 GMT)
Rafael Nadal takes the torch
Zidane passes on the torch to the Spaniard, who won French Tennis Open a record 14 times.
Former footballer Zinedine Zidane passes the Olympic torch to tennis player Rafael Nadal during the opening ceremony [Dylan Martinez/Reuters] 
Torchbearer Rafael Nadal is seen during the opening ceremony [Stephanie Lecocq/Reuters] - 26 Jul 2024 - 20:58(20:58 GMT)
Zidane returns to the stage
The former French footballer, who held the flame at the start of the ceremony, appears on stage.
The torchbearer hands over the flame, which was run across the streets, roofs and bridges of Paris to arrive at the Eiffel Tower.
- 26 Jul 2024 - 20:55(20:55 GMT)
Emmanuel Macron declares the Games ‘open’!
With no fanfare the 25th French president simply declares that the Paris Games are “open”.
- 26 Jul 2024 - 20:53(20:53 GMT)
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach addresses the crowd
“You have come to Paris as athletes, now you are Olympians. Now, we are all part of an event that unites the world,” Bach said.
“There is no Global South or Global North. We all respect each other. We all care for each other. We live in solidarity with each other.
“In a world torn apart by wars and conflicts, it is through this Olympics that we can all come together.”
- 26 Jul 2024 - 20:46(20:46 GMT)
The closing speeches begin
“I know the path you have followed to reach here, and Paris will give back to you. It will be your city,” Tony Estanguet, the Games president, said on a podium below the flag.
The Olympic flag is raised during the Opening Ceremony [Loic Venance/AP] - 26 Jul 2024 - 20:31(20:31 GMT)
The Olympic anthem begins
The rider delivers the flag and the audience is asked to take to their feet for the Olympic anthem as the flag is raised.
Floriane Issert, left, a non-commissioned officer for the National Gendarmerie, carries the Olympic flag during the Opening Ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics [Loic Venance/AP] - 26 Jul 2024 - 20:29(20:29 GMT)
The metallic horse and rider transform into reality
The real horse and rider replace the animatronic version that travailed the Seine and make their way, with the Olympic flag, from the river and along the Trocadero.
A stage in the shape of an inverted Eiffel Tower awaits.
Overview of the Trocadero venue while the delegations arrive, during the Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024, as the Eiffel Tower is seen in the background [Francois-Xavier Marit/Reuters] Advertisement - 26 Jul 2024 - 20:25(20:25 GMT)
The Eiffel Tower is ready for the finale
The attention of the Opening Ceremony falls fully to the feet of the Eiffel Tower:
An aerial view of the Eiffel Tower and the Olympics Rings lightened up during the Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games [Lionel Bonaventure/Reuters] - 26 Jul 2024 - 20:22(20:22 GMT)
The flagbearers prepare for the arrival of the Olympic flag
The flagbearers of all the nations line up below the Eiffel Tower to provide a guard of honour for the Olympic flag, which is about to arrive following its journey along the Seine.
Volunteers carry flags of participating nations during the Opening Ceremony [Andy Wong/AP Photo] - 26 Jul 2024 - 20:22(20:22 GMT)
Basketball legend LeBron James holds the flag on the USA boat!
LA Lakers NBA star LeBron James, seen here in a white jersey, holds the American flag just before the team disembarks for the final stage of the Opening Ceremony under the Eiffel Tower.
Welcome @TeamUSA 🫡 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/LQClO2X0Uu
— Paris 2024 (@Paris2024) July 26, 2024
Paris Olympics 2024: Opening ceremony – as it happened
All our updates from the Summer Olympics opening ceremony on the River Seine in the French capital.
Published On 26 Jul 2024
- The Paris Olympics 2024 is officially launched with the opening ceremony in the French capital.
- Lady Gaga was the first act of the event along the River Seine. Celine Dion performed the closing act.
- It is the first time in the history of the games that the ceremony was not held inside the Olympic Stadium of the host city.
- Although this is the official opening, the first events of the game took place on Wednesday, with the men’s football tournament.
- The games will run until the evening of August 11.
- Keep up to date: You can follow the action on Al Jazeera’s dedicated Paris 2024 Olympics tournament page with all the news and features as well as event build-up and live text commentary on selected football, basketball, tennis and boxing fixtures. Stay informed with real-time updates from Paris 2024 with our Olympics events calendar, medal table and results pages.