Kelly Clarkson announced she will join NFL Hall of Famer Peyton Manning and NBC sportscaster Mike Tirico as hosts of the opening ceremonies of the 2024 Summer Olympics.
“You know, Peyton hosted the Country Music Awards, Kelly’s one of the greatest of all time, so the three of us are going to do an album,” Tirico told Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon.
“I’m so glad we can say it. We’ve been holding this forever,” Clarkson added. The inaugural day of the 2024 Summer Olympics will air on NBC and Peacock at noon E.T. on July 26. It will feature over 10,000 athletes representing their flags in Paris. The hosts also revealed that winners will take home medals with the Eiffel Tower embedded in them.
“The opening ceremony is going to be so different and unique. Down the Seine, down the river with the athletes on a boat, so it’s not the stadium where they walk in,” said Tirico. “It will incorporate Paris. And the games are going to be amazing as you know, swimming, gymnastics … Simon Biles, Katie Ledecky, Team USA in track and field could be incredibly strong, the Dream Team, the U.S. soccer team, the women’s basketball team.”
Paris will become the epicenter of international sports
The 2024 Summer Olympics, officially termed the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad and affectionately known as Paris 2024, heralds a grand return of the world’s foremost sports spectacle to the French capital. From July 26 to August 11, 2024, Paris will become the epicenter of international sports, marking a century since it last hosted the Games in 1924.
Paris was designated host city during the 131st IOC Session in Lima, Peru, on September 13, 2017. The selection process concluded with Paris and Los Angeles as the final contenders, leading to a unique dual allocation that appointed Los Angeles hosts for the 2028 Summer Olympics. This decision underlines the IOC’s confidence in Paris, which will join London as the only city to have hosted the Summer Olympics three times.
The Games in 2024 will be the sixth Olympic event hosted by France, including both summer and winter editions, and the first since the Winter Olympics in Albertville in 1992. This iteration aims to celebrate not just sports but also cultural diversity and environmental sustainability, with events spread across 16 cities in metropolitan France and a subsite in Tahiti, embracing the global nature of the Games while showcasing French heritage.
Innovation and Inclusion at the Heart of Paris 2024
A standout feature of the Paris 2024 Olympics will be the introduction of breaking, or breakdancing, as an official Olympic event. This addition speaks volumes about the Games‘ evolution and its efforts to stay relevant to younger audiences by embracing urban sports culture.
In a landmark move towards gender equality, the Paris 2024 Olympics will also achieve an equal number of male and female athletes competing for the first time in Olympic history.
A Sustainable Vision
With an estimated cost of €8.3 billion, Paris 2024 is set to showcase sustainability and innovation. The organizers are committed to delivering a carbon-neutral event, emphasizing the use of existing and temporary venues, promoting public transportation, and implementing rigorous environmental standards. This approach aims to set a new benchmark for how mega-events can align with global sustainability goals.