It took a long time to arrive and it was over way too quick, but the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics were certainly worth the wait. Countless exciting moments, photo finishes, and new events made for a wonderful few weeks.
One of the biggest highlights of every Olympic cycle is the pageantry with the opening and closing ceremonies. And right at the center of that were some amazing music performances. Countless superstars showed up on the world stage to commemorate the occasion. In this article, we’ll look back at the wonderful music performances we watched from Paris!
Unlike in previous years, the opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics were held on the banks of the river Seine instead of inside a stadium. In that historic locale, there were numerous music performances that took our breath away.
Kicking off the performances was Lady Gaga singing a rendition of the French song “Mon truc en plumes” by Zizi Jeanmaire. Accompanied by dancers wearing black with pink feathers along with a band, she welcomed the athletes parading down the river. Check out her performance here!
Lady Gaga was extremely grateful for the opportunity to perform at the opening ceremonies, posting on Instagram that she was “humbled to be asked by the Olympic organizing committee to sing such a special French song.”
She also mentioned that the feathers they used for the performance were tailored by an authentic French cabaret theater, and she worked tirelessly on perfecting a classic French dance with a modern twist.
The first ever heavy metal band to perform at the Olympics, Gojira made a splashy debut as they played along with a pageant inspired by the classic book and musical Les Mis and France’s tumultuous history. The French band turned a lot of heads as they played a tribute to the country’s history – including during a display of the headless Marie Antoinette.
The heavy metal band brought much needed energy to the ceremonies and won a lot of new fans for their performance. Lead singer Joe Duplantier mentioned that he wanted to represent “the whole metal community on the world stage.”
Aya Nakamura is France’s most popular singer-songwriter both in France and abroad, with 25 top 10 singles in France. On the bridge linking the Louvre with the Insitut de France, she performed a mashup of her songs “Pookie” and “Djadja.”
A French-Algerian rapper also took center stage during the opening ceremonies. Rim’K, shouting out Snoop Dogg in his lyrics, performed a song called “King.”
In what has become a staple of the Olympic ceremonies, singer-songwriter Juliette Armanet sang “Imagine” by John Lennon, joined by Sofiane Pamart on the piano. While the piano literally burned, the two performed the song about a world joined together without conflict.
The rendition, performed on a raft, was both a spectacle and a great performance.
Against all odds, Celine Dion was the final act of the opening ceremonies, singing the famous “Hymne á l’amour” in a scenic shot on the Eiffel Tower. Despite a long string of health difficulties, being diagnosed with the extremely rare and debilitating stiff-person syndrome and having to cancel her world tour for 2023 and 2024, Celine Dion made her first live performance in over a year and delivered a showstopping performance. Nothing, not even the driving rain, could stop her.
Check out her performance here!
After all the adversity she battled through, exemplifying the Olympic spirit to a tee, Dion gets emotional at the end of the performance – a performance she should be proud of and that will live in our memories for a long time.
With the Summer Olympics heading to Los Angeles in 2028, there were numerous performances from California bands old and new to commemorate the end of one Olympic cycle and the start of another. French singers also contributed, and Tom Cruise even jumped from the top of the stadium to retrieve the Olympic flag!
With the Olympic torch changing hands from France to the United States, H.E.R. was on call to deliver a stupendous rendition of the American national anthem. The atmospheric Rhythm and Blues singer showed off her impressive vocals and guitar skills on the world's biggest stage.
After the handoff of the Olympic flag, the scene shifted from Paris to the beaches of Los Angeles, where famous California artists were on hand to perform a concert for the ages. One of the headliners was Billie Eilish, who played her new single “Birds of a Feather,” which later hit #1 on iTunes. Accompanying her was her brother and frequent collaborator Finneas.
On call with NBC for the entire Olympics, rapper Snoop Dogg also put in a performance on the banks of the Pacific Ocean, accompanied by special guest star Dr. Dre. He played hits like “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and “The Next Episode” to the enthusiastic crowd.
As pillars of West Coast rap, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre were perfect choices to exemplify the California style as the Olympics shifted over to the United States.
A classic funk-rock band formed in 1983, the Red Hot Chili Peppers were born and built in Los Angeles. Their longevity and popularity would get them inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.
On the beaches of Los Angeles, they played their classic hit “Can’t Stop,” displaying their same party animal mentality decades into their career. Their performance certainly brought the energy!
Back in France, the band Phoenix and singer Yseult made sure the party didn’t stop with the handoff.
Phoenix, a French band with some mainstream success in hits like “Lizstomania” and “1901,” hails from Versailles. While they sing in English, lead singer Thomas Mars says their lyrics are distinctly French. “We love that it’s weird and there is something very French about it,” he said.
For their performance, they sang their hit song “Lizstomania” and “If I Ever Feel Better.”
Meanwhile, French singer-songwriter Yseult performed an amazing rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” (a song originally written by French artists, as explained by the broadcast). After French gold medalist Léon Marchand doused the Olympic flame, Yseult gave her rendition of the song as the final performance of the night.
Her version of the song was widely praised by listeners. The singer said she was “proud of myself and proud of my team. It’s an honor to sing in my country, surrounded by beautiful souls.”
The music performances at the Paris Olympics closing ceremonies whetted our appetite for when the Summer Olympics return in 4 years. Which music performance from the Paris Olympics was your favorite? What performances are you hoping to see in Los Angeles in 2028? 4 years seems far away, but it’ll be here before we know it!
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