Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony Highlights: France president Emmanuel Macron declares the Games open

Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony Live Updates: THE WAIT IS OVER!

PV Sindhu and Sharath Kamal bear the Indian flag as the contingent waves fans and delegates at the opening ceremony. Faint chants of ‘jeetega bhai jeetega, India jeetega’ could be heard from fans as the Indian contingent continues to unfurl the tricolour. A special moment, indeed, for the 117-athlete strong contingent at the Paris Olympics.

Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony Live Updates: Former Liverpool midfielder and currently the captain of Bundesliga club Werder Bremen, Naby Keita bears the Guinean flag as their contingent makes the mark at the opening ceremony. Equatorial Guinea, Guyana, and Haiti follow.

Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony Live Updates: Following the arrival of Gabon, the Masked Man returns as he is shown in Louvre, with the famous Mona Lisa painting missing – a throwback to the 1911 incident, when the actual painting was stolen. Following a brief piano performance, athletes arrive again.

Contingents from Great Britain arrives to massive cheer from fans. Won't be long before India takes centre-stage!

Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony Live Updates: We continue to wait for the arrival of India's contingent at the Paris Olympics' opening ceremony. There have been three artist performances so far, with Lady Gaga, metal band Gojiru, and Aya Nakamura mesmerising the fans. The Indian athletes have already begun their journey through the Seine, though. Currently passing through the river are Korea, Cote d'Ivoire, and Croatia, among others.

Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony Live Updates: The masked man dramatically breaks through a military band, igniting a series of firecrackers that set off a dazzling display of fireworks. This stunning spectacle is followed by a captivating musical performance by Aya Nakamura.

After her performance, the masked man travels to the iconic Louvre. What happens next? Well, we will have to wait, as the ceremony shifts back to the resumption of athletes' floating parade.

Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony Live Updates: While all eyes are on the athletes of their respective national contingents, a masked figure resembling a video game Ninja is also part of the opening ceremony. Carrying the Olympic torch, this individual is covering every inch of Paris, taking onlookers on a virtual tour. He zipped through a zipline, showcased the making of Louis Vuitton products, and provided a first-hand view of how the Olympic medals are forged this year. Insane!

Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony Live Updates: There has been a slight drizzle in Paris, but the Olympic ceremony continues as planned. The ceremony now shifts to portray Paris as the city of love and romance. Quite poetic, then, that the rain falls as soon as the segment begins!

Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony Live Updates: The dance performances culminate in a brilliant ode to the French revolution, that took place between 1789-1799. This is followed by an electrifying metal band performance. The mysterious figures continues to hold the Olympic torch

Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony Live Updates: Synchronised dance performances from artists across multiple historic places all through Paris mesmerise the fans at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony. A mysterious figure is seen performing stunts with the Olympic torch in their hand; this surely is building up to be a spectacular ceremony!

Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony Live Updates: A 388-athlete strong Chinese contingent acknowledges the fans on either side of river Seine. Table tennis star Ma Long and swimmer Feng Yu bear the Chinese flag at the opening ceremony.

Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony Live Updates: Raquel Kochhann bears the Brazilian flag in a heartwarming story at the Paris Olympics. Kochhann, the rugby sevens star, is a breast cancer survivor and is one of the only two members of the side to play in a third Olympic edition. She had noticed a lump on her breast during the Tokyo Olympics, which was later diagnosed to be breast cancer.

Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony Live Updates: After an electrifying performance by Lady Gaga, the athletes continue their arrival via the River Seine. The contingent from Bangladesh makes its entrance first, followed by Barbados. In a heartwarming split-screen moment, India's silver-medalist from the previous Olympics, Mirabai Chanu, is seen proudly waving the flag as the Indian contingent sails in

Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony Live Updates: Following the arrival of the Bahrain athletes through the Seine river, the further arrivals have been put to a halt. It's now time for a sizzling performance from pop icon Lady Gaga!

Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony Live Updates: Argentina, with a strong with a strong 136-athlete contingent, will compete in 25 disciplines throughout the next two weeks at the Olympics. Their contingent features 103 men and 33 women.

Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony Live Updates: Following the fireworks, the athletes have now begun to arrive through the Seine river in an unprecedented floating parade. As per the tradition, the atletes from Greece – the hosts of the first modern Olympics – acknowledge the crowd. They are followed by the Refugee Olympic Team.

Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony Live Updates: The Olympic torch is carried down the Seine River amidst a spectacular display of fireworks and resounding applause from spectators lining both banks. The dazzling fireworks culminate in a stunning visual of the French flag rendered in smoke!

Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony Live Updates: France's football legend Zinedine Zidane features in a video to kickstart the Olympic opening ceremony!

Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony Live Updates: India's Olympic-medal winning athlete and now Chef-de-Mission, Gagan Narang, spoke about India's chances of reaching the elusive double figures at the Paris Olympics.

“It's an absolute honour for the flagbearers to take the country's flag. There's no better feeling. I've not attended opening ceremonies, because we had competitions the next day. But, just be in the moment and enjoy as much as you can. When I was an athlete, I never had a number. The IOA and national federations have done whatever they could, now it's up to the athletes!”

Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony Live Updates: USA's tennis sensation Coco Gauff and basketball legend LeBron James are ready to bear the national flag at the floating parade. Ahead of the opening ceremony, Team USA posted a video on their official X account, where the duo was presented with the Olympic sash. In case you missed it, this will be the first time when a male basketball player will bear the American flag at the Olympics opening ceremony!

Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony Live Updates: Ahead of the opening ceremony, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a special message for the 117-athlete strong Indian contingent. Taking to his official X profile, PM Modi wrote, “As the Paris #Olympics commences, my best wishes to the Indian contingent. Every athlete is India’s pride. May they all shine and embody the true spirit of sportsmanship, inspiring us with their exceptional performances. #Paris2024.”

Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony Live Updates: The Indian duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty has been in phenomenal form since last year, and will hope to create history at the Paris Olympics with a gold medal in men's doubles event. The duo had won the gold medals at both, 2022 Commonwealth Games and the 2022 Asian Games, and also clinched a gold at the last year's Asian Championships. This year, they have won two BWF titles so far (French Open and Thailand Open).

Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony Live Updates: Ahead of the Olympics opening ceremony, PV Sindhu interacted with broadcasters JioCinema, speaking about her hopes for the upcoming edition. When asked how she feels about a third-successive medal, Sindhu says, "I always hear people keep telling this to me. To hear that… it's really nice to have three consecutive medals! But I have to give my best. I've done it two years, hopefully this time, it will be the best one (gold)."

Sindhu has a silver and a bronze from the past two Olympic outings, respectively.

Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony Live Updates: We are inching closer to the grand opening ceremony for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games! The good news is that it isn't raining in Paris right now, and we must hope the weather remains the same throughout the evening. In case you missed it, over 7000 athletes will be arriving on boats in a first-ever ‘floating parade’ along the Seine River in Paris, with over 3,000 artists performing throughout the route, which features some of the iconic monuments of the city.

Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony Live Updates: On the final day of the Olympic torch relay, there was a surprise appearance in Paris as US rapper Snoop Dogg carried the torch, sparking speculations that he, too, may be involved in the opening ceremony. Around 3,000 dancers are set to perform from the banks of the river and monuments including Notre-Dame cathedral, showcasing the rich French culture and diversity.

Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony Live Updates: Ahead of the opening ceremony, India's cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar issued a video message, where he called for the nation to get behind the athletes participating at the Paris Games. Taking to his official X profile, Tendulkar wrote, “The @Olympics have always been a celebration of unity and excellence. As #Paris2024 begins, let's cheer on our incredible team of 117 athletes representing 1.4 billion hearts. Go out there and make us proud, Team India. Jai Hind!”

Cricket is not currently the part of the Olympic roster, but will make a return to the Games after 128 years at the next Games in Los Angeles.