What's New  

Lady Gaga adds sparkle to star-studded Olympic show

By AFP

26 July 2024   |   8:17 pm

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on WhatsApp Share on Telegram

Lady Gaga and French-Malian singer Aya Nakamura joined dancers, an opera diva and even a heavy metal band in an opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics that sought to proudly showcase French culture with a modern twist. The first-ever opening ceremony held outside a stadium -- on the River Seine -- had to battle driving…

Lady Gaga and French-Malian singer Aya Nakamura joined dancers, an opera diva and even a heavy metal band in an opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics that sought to proudly showcase French culture with a modern twist.

The first-ever opening ceremony held outside a stadium — on the River Seine — had to battle driving rain that cast a pallid gloom over the City of Light.

The fast-moving and multi-location ceremony masterminded by acclaimed French theatre director Thomas Jolly was aimed at impressing the global TV audience as much as those who braved the weather and intense security to watch live.

“It is now. The world is watching us. Let’s open the Games in style!” French President Emmanuel Macron, who watched the ceremony in a VIP stand with other leaders, wrote on X.

In a nod to her passion for French culture, US pop star Lady Gaga appeared from behind a fan of pom-poms held by her dancing troupe to sing “Mon truc en plumes” (“My Thing With Feathers”) an iconic French music hall hit by the legendary Zizi Jeanmaire.

“It is my supreme honour to sing for you and cheer you on,” Lady Gaga wrote on her social media channels after the performance, saying she always “felt a very special connection with French people and singing French music.”

Franco-Malian R&B superstar Aya Nakamura, the most listened-to French-speaking singer in the world, performed a medley with two of her hits “Pookie” and “Djadja” and a classic by Charles Aznavour, “For me Formidable”, one hundred years since his birth.

Rumours she was to perform had sparked a backlash from the extreme right in France and a torrent of racist abuse on social media. But in a striking symbol, she was accompanied in her performance by musicians from France’s Republican Guard.