For the first time in Summer Olympic history, the Olympic Opening Ceremony will be held outside the stadium. Instead, the athletes will parade down Paris’ famous Seine River in boats. Celine Dion and Lady Gaga are also likely to be spotted performing on stage.
10,500 athletes in 94 boats will sail the 6km course, which ends in front of the Trocadero opposite the Eiffel Tower. The rest of the Paris 2024 opening ceremony, including the lighting of the Olympic cauldron and the official opening speech by French President Emmanuel Macron, will take place at this iconic venue. The event is scheduled to last approximately three and a half hours, starting at 6:30pm and ending at 10pm BST.
Here’s how to watch the Olympic opening ceremony in different European countries.
Where to watch the 2024 Olympics live in the UK
In the UK, the BBC will broadcast the Olympics for free. BBC One will broadcast the event from 8am to 10pm each day, while BBC Two will be the news broadcaster. BBC iPlayer will offer an additional Olympic Extra channel, giving viewers extensive access to live events and highlights. Eurosport 1, Eurosport 2 and Discovery+ will also offer additional coverage, but these services require a subscription.
Live coverage of the Opening Ceremony begins at 5.45pm on Friday 26 July and will be broadcast on BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport Online and BBC Red Button. For those requiring accessibility features, a signed version of the Opening Ceremony will be available on BBC Red Button 1 HD and BBC iPlayer.
Where to watch the 2024 Olympics live in France
In France, Warner Bros. Discovery and France Télévisions have secured the broadcast rights for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. French viewers can enjoy free-to-air coverage on France 2 and France 3. For viewers with pay TV, Eurosport offers comprehensive access to all Olympic events.
France Télévisions, the main broadcaster of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, will broadcast the Opening Ceremony on France 2 from 7:30 p.m. (local time) to around 11:15 p.m. Commentators Laurent Delahousse, Daphné Bürki and Alexandre Boyon will provide live coverage throughout the event. There will also be a special program dedicated to the pre-event festivities at 5:30 p.m. For viewers who prefer to stream the event, the France.TV platform and the France Télévisions app (available on iOS and Android) will offer live streaming options. However, users will need to create an account in advance. The Opening Ceremony replay will be available on Saturday, July 27, from 1 a.m.
Where to watch the 2024 Olympics live in Portugal
In Portugal, RTP will broadcast the Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies on RTP1. The Opening Ceremony is scheduled for 19 July at 6:30 p.m., while the Closing Ceremony will take place at the Stade de France on 11 August at 6 p.m. In addition, RTP2 and RTP Play will provide 12 to 14 hours of Olympic coverage each day, showcasing the participation of various sports and national athletes.
RTP3 will focus on providing continuous news updates, interviews with national athletes and daily summaries of Olympic events. The news channel will also feature live interviews with athletes after the games. In addition, all cable operators in Portugal will offer the Eurosport channel, which will be augmented with additional temporary channels dedicated to specific sports. This extensive coverage will allow Portuguese viewers to follow their favorite sports and athletes throughout the Games.
Where to watch the 2024 Olympics live in Spain
Spanish viewers can watch the Paris 2024 Olympic Games opening ceremony on RTVE channels La 1, La 2 and Teledeporte, and can also watch it live on RTVE Play. The opening ceremony begins at 6:30 p.m., with commentary provided by Marcos López, Julia Luna and Ernest Riveras. Ana Ibáñez, Lara Gandarillas and Nico de Vicente will also provide ground coverage at key points along the route.
For those who have access to the paid service, Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max will broadcast the event live on Eurosport from 6pm. Eurosport will provide comprehensive coverage of the entire competition, giving viewers the chance to see every minute, medal and moment of the Spanish Olympics.
Where to watch the 2024 Olympics live in Italy
In Italy, the Olympic Opening Ceremony will be broadcast live and free on RAI. The event, which will start at 7.30pm and last approximately four hours, will also be streamed on RAI Play. Eurosport, available via Sky, will also broadcast the event, with additional streaming options available on Discovery+, Sky Go, Now TV, Dazn and TimVision.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games will feature 329 gold medals across a variety of sports, with the first gold medal awarded on Saturday, July 27. The Closing Ceremony will take place on August 11, marking the end of what is expected to be a memorable Olympics.
