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Red carpet photos from the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony

Paris is hosting the Olympics for the first time in a century, promising a stellar two weeks of athletic excellence.

PARIS, France — Stars of sports and entertainment are out at the Paris Olympics for the opening ceremony of the Summer Games. 

NFL Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, who will assist with NBC's live television broadcast of the Paris Olympics, was among those who joined the red carpet Friday.

Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Kelly Clarkson, Vincent Cassel, Lindsey Vonn, Shaun White, Carl Lewis, and Prince Albert of Monaco and his wife Charlene were among dozens of celebrities who walked the red carpet Friday on an overcast morning in Paris.

Friday's ceremony is the first-ever Summer Olympic opening ceremony not held in a stadium. Olympic organizers are turning one of the world's most famous waterways, the River Seine, into the world's biggest theatrical stage.

Instead of walking into a stadium, a four-mile-long flotilla of nearly 100 boats will carry thousands of athletes from more than 200 countries past hundreds of thousands of spectators seated on the banks of the Seine.

Ariana Grande

Credit: AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko
Entertainer Ariana Grande arrives in Paris, France, before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.

Cynthia Erivo

Credit: AP
Ariana Grande, right, and Cynthia Erivo arrive in Paris, France, before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.

Eileen Gu

Credit: AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko
Olympian Eileen Gu arrives with her mom Yan Gu in Paris, France, before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.

Vincent Cassel

Credit: AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko
French actor Vincent Cassel arrives with a guest in Paris, France, before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.

Carl Lewis

Credit: AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko
Former Olympian Carl Lewis arrives in Paris, France, before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.

Peyton Manning

Credit: AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko
Peyton Manning arrives in Paris, France, before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.

Shaun White

Credit: AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko
Former Olympian Shaun White arrives in Paris, France, before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.

Kelly Clarkson

Credit: AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko
Kelly Clarkson arrives in Paris, France, before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.

Lindsey Vonn

Credit: AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko
Former Olympian Lindsey Vonn arrives in Paris, France, before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.

Prince Albert of Monaco 

Credit: AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko
Prince Albert of Monaco and his wife Charlene, arrive in Paris, France, before opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.

Boris Becker

Credit: AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko
Boris Becker, former tennis player, arrives in Paris, France, before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.

When is the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony?

NBC will begin live coverage of the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony at 11:30 a.m. MT on Friday.

The opening ceremony will be broadcast on NBC, Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com and the NBC/NBC Sports apps, or in IMAX theaters.

Mike Tirico, Kelly Clarkson and Peyton Manning will serve as hosts of NBC’s opening ceremony coverage. "Today" hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb will also be part of the broadcast team.

After the Olympic cauldron is lit during the Opening Ceremony, there will be 16 more days of competition featuring about 10,500 athletes from more than 200 nations.

Where will the Paris Olympics be held?

Eighty percent of competition venues are within 6.2 miles of the Olympic and Paralympic Village in Paris.

The Olympics will use historic locations throughout France for competition venues.

Some of the venues include Eiffel Tower Stadium for beach volleyball, the Palace of Versailles for equestrian, Roland-Garros stadium for tennis, and the Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées for taekwondo and fencing.

Paris previously hosted the Olympics in 1900 and 1924, and will join London (1908, 1948 and 2012) as the only cities to host the Olympic Games three times.

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