Paris 2024, the music: Lady Gaga, Gojira, Celine Dion…
The opening ceremony of the 33rd edition of the modern Olympics was held in Paris last night. In addition to the traditional parade of athletes from all nations who will enliven the sporting event that takes place every four years – a parade that did not take place as usual inside a stadium but on boats and barges along the Seine -, the ceremony was a real show that also featured musical performances.
The first to perform was Lady Gaga, who proposed, in a triumph of feathers, “Mon truc en plumes”, by French showgirl Zizi Jeanmaire.
This is the original version by Zizi Jeanmaire.
One of the performances that most impressed the audience was that of the French metal band Gojira who, from the Conciergerie palace, performed the song of the French Revolution “Ah, Ça Ira!” accompanied by the opera singer Marina Viotti.
Other performances included Malian-French singer Aya Nakamura who sang a medley of her hits and those of Charles Aznavour, accompanied by the French Army Choir.
On a burning raft on the Seine, Juliette Armanet, accompanied by Sofiane Pamart on piano, performed “Imagine” by John Lennon.
Philippe Katherine proposed a song entitled “Tout nu”. Painted in blue, he wanted to pay homage to Dionysus, god of wine and celebration.
The ceremony was closed by Celine Dion who performed the famous 1950 Edith Piaf song, “Hymne à l’amour”. A moment made even more touching if one considers that the Canadian musician is suffering from ‘stiff person syndrome’ and singing brings her pain.
“Hymne à l’amour” is the song that Edith Piaf dedicated to the great love of her life, the boxer Marcel Cerdan, who died in 1949 in a plane crash.
Celine Dion had already performed “Hymne à l’amour” at the American Music Awards in 2015.
This is not the first time that Celine Dion has performed at the Olympics. In 1996, in Atlanta, USA, at the opening ceremony she sang “The power of the dream”.
There official song of the Olympics Parisian is “Hello world” starring Gwen Stefani and Anderson.Paak.
