How To Watch The Olympics Opening Ceremony Online
| Broadcast date: Friday, July 26 (US, CA, UK) | Saturday, July 27 (AU) |
| Start time: 1:30pm ET / 10:30am PT / 6:30pm BST / 3:30am AEST (Saturday) |
| Channel: NBC (US) | CBC (CA) | BBC One (UK) | Channel 9 (AU) |
| US stream: Peacock TV |
| FREE International streams: 9Now (AU) BBC iPlayer (UK) | CBC Gem (CA) |
| Watch anywhere: Stream with NordVPN |
Watch The Olympics Opening Ceremony: Preview
Thousands of athletes and spectators are about to converge on Paris for an Olympics Opening Ceremony like no other. Kicking off 16 days of Games, the City of Lights will be transformed into one giant Cirque du Soleil as the River Seine becomes the Olympians' parade route. It promises to be a jubilant, jaw-dropping spectacle. Read our guide below for how to watch the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony online from anywhere – and 100% free.
Just three years ago, Tokyo’s Opening Ceremony was unfolding in a National Stadium left half-empty by Covid and in an atmosphere one commentator described as “funereal.” Luckily, that global tempête de merde has subsided. Viewers worldwide can look forward to an Opening Ceremony that’s not just a return to form, but offers a radical break from tradition.
For the first time in the Summer Games’ history, the inaugural event will occur outside the confines of a stadium. Paris will become one unbounded Olympic venue as the River Seine is transformed into a 4-mile-long parade route conveying roughly 100 boats and 10,000 athletes past iconic landmarks like Notre-Dame, its riverbanks flanked by spectators, as all 206 participating nations head towards the Trocadero for the Games' more formal protocols.
Artistic director Thomas Jolly, meanwhile, has ensured the event’s captivating razzle-dazzle. Threaded throughout the Opening Ceremony is his celebration of French history and culture: a citywide show told in 12 parts, that pokes fun at French clichés as well as embracing the country’s multiculturalism. “France is Edith Piaf,” Jolly says. But “it’s also opera, it’s rap, it’s a whole range of musical styles […] The idea is not to project a fixed identity.”
Much of the ceremony has been kept hush-hush to keep the WOW factor high. But one thing’s for sure: with all the eyes of the world on Paris, the official opening of this year’s Olympic Games is going to be…IN SEINE! (Yes, we went there).
Follow our guide below for how to watch the Olympics Opening Ceremony live online, absolutely free and from anywhere in the world.
How to watch The Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony online FREE in the UK
Viewers can watch The Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony on Friday, July 26 on BBC One. Sports Commentator Clare Balding will provide pre-show coverage from 5:45pm BST, which will lead into the official Opening Ceremony at 6:30pm BST.
If you've cut the cord, BBC iPlayer allows UK viewers to stream Olympic footage live and on-demand, while also providing a second curated channel dubbed Olympics Extra. BBC iPlayer is compatible on a range of devices and, better still, it’s absolutely FREE to watch. To create a BBC account, all you need is an email address and a UK postcode (e.g. W127FW), in addition to a valid TV licence.
NB: If you’re a UK citizen traveling abroad, you can subscribe to a VPN to access a regionally-restricted service like BBC iPlayer and watch UK TV online, including streaming the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony online just as you would back home.
How to watch the Olympics Opening Ceremony 2024 online from anywhere
If you're abroad on vacation or working overseas, you can still watch the Olympics Opening Ceremony just as you would at home.
While streaming services like BBC iPlayer restrict access from IP addresses outside of their licensed country, there's a piece of software called a VPN which can change your IP address to make it look like you're accessing streaming services from any country in the world.
For example, UK citizens vacationing anywhere in the world can subscribe to a VPN, join a UK-based server and watch the Olympics Opening Ceremony on BBC iPlayer from anywhere in the world, just like they would back home.
How to use a VPN to unblock streaming services:
1. Choose your ideal VPN and install – our go-to recommendation for unblocking is NordVPN, costing from $3.99 a month with its 2-year plan
2. Connect to a server – for BBC iPlayer, for example, you'll want to connect to a server based in the UK.
3. Go to the stream you wish to access - for the Olympics Opening Ceremony, head to BBC iPlayer.
How to watch The Olympics Opening Ceremony in the US
Those in the US can watch the Olympics Opening Ceremony on Friday, July 26, from 1:30pm ET / 10:30am PT on NBC (although pre-show coverage begins from 12pm ET / 9am PT), or on Spanish-language channel Telemundo from 1pm ET / 10am PT.
On NBC, the almost four-hour-long event will be covered by Mike Tirico, retired football player Peyton Manning, and singer and talk-show host Kelly Clarkson. Live streaming coverage will also be available on Peacock, NBC’s streaming service.
Peacock is the official streaming home of the Games, and a Peacock subscription will let you watch The Olympics Opening Ceremony and more online. This starts from $7.99 a month for Peacock Premium, or get Premium Plus at $13.99 a month and cut the commercials. With a 12 month annual plan, you’ll save and only pay for the equivalent of 10 months. Even better, if you’re a student, a monthly subscription only costs $1.99 a month.
Alternatively, FuboTV is an ideal cable-replacement service. Not only does it provide NBC so that you can watch The Olympics Opening Ceremony live or on-demand, but it's got heaps of sports coverage and a varied selection of channels – including ABC, ESPN, USA, FX and Telemundo.
The platform’s entry-level Pro plan comes packed with over 140 channels for a very reasonable $79.99 a month – and that’s only after you’ve enjoyed its FREE FuboTV trial deal.
How to watch the Olympics Opening Ceremony online FREE in Australia
It’ll be an early start for Aussies wanting to watch the Olympics Opening Ceremony live. Channel Nine and Channel Nine HD will air the 3.5 hour spectacular on Saturday, July 27 at 3.30am AEST, with pre-show coverage beginning from 3am.
A free streaming option for cord-cutters is 9Now. Providing 40 channels of live and on-demand programming, the Australian streaming service is completely FREE. All you need to do is create an account using your email and password.
Alternatively, purchasing the Stan Sport add-on on top of a basic Stan plan might be tempting for avid followers of the Olympics. Stan Sport provides a HD, ad-free experience for starters. Plus, it provides eight exclusive international Olympics channels to boot. New subscribers can get their base plan free for the first 30-days (beginning from AU$12 for Stan Basic), but Stan Sport is charged at AU$15 a month, with no free trial period available.
An Aussie out of the country? If you find yourself abroad when The Olympics Opening Ceremony takes place, subscribe to a VPN to access regional services like 9Now or Stan and continue streaming like you were right back home.
How to watch the Olympics Opening Ceremony online FREE in Canada
Cheer on your sporting heroes and watch the Olympics Opening Ceremony live on Friday, July 26 from 1:30pm ET / 10:30am PT, on either the CBC or TSN channel.
If you’ve cut the cord, then live stream the ceremony on CBC Gem. Gem offers live streams of multiple channels, a round-the-clock Olympic Channel, and on-demand content. It’s 100% free to use, simply sign-up by creating an account.
If you’re currently vacationing abroad, you can subscribe to a VPN to access Canada-specific services and stream the Olympics Opening Ceremony just as you would from home.
Where will the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony take place?
The Opening Ceremony will take place in Paris, the City of Lights! The parade of athletes will see an Olympic armada progress down the Seine, beginning at Austerlitz Bridge and traveling almost four miles until they reach the Trocadero. Once there, the remaining elements of the ceremony will conclude, such as opening remarks from French President Emmanuel Macron.
What time is the Opening Ceremony in Paris in 2024?
The Olympics Opening Ceremony takes place on Friday, July 26 in the US, Canada, the UK and locally in Paris, at: 10:30am PT / 1:30pm ET / 6:30pm BST / 7:30pm CEST (local time). As it’s live, that means the Australian broadcast will be very early on Saturday, July 27, beginning from 3:30am AEST.
How can I watch the Olympics Opening Ceremony online?
Depending on where you live, there are different free streaming options to watch the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony. The NBC channel, which eligible subscribers can watch free with FuboTV, and Peacock are your options in the US, while CBC and CBC Gem will keep the Olympic flame burning for Canadian sports fans.
UK viewers can watch the Opening Ceremony on BBC One and BBC iPlayer (though they will require a valid TV license), while Channel Nine and 9Now will ensures Australians catch every jaw-dropping moment of the event.
