The Opening Ceremony live stream at Olympics 2024 may not technically be the first event of the Olympics but it's still the first event in our hearts — and you can watch it today from anywhere with a VPN and potentially for free!
Date and time: Today (Fri., July 26) @ 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT / 5 p.m. BST / 3 a.m. AEST (July 27)
• Canada — Watch FREE on CBC
• U.S. — Watch live on Peacock TV, and on NBC via Sling (select markets) or Fubo
• U.K. — Watch on Discovery Plus
• Watch anywhere — try NordVPN 100% risk free
Today's Opening Ceremony looks to be a star-studded event. First, we know that legendary rapper Snoop Dogg will carry the Olympic torch. The torch relay is one of the great Olympic traditions and "Snoop D-O-Double-G" will carry the torch in one of the relay's final sections.
But "Tha Doggfather" isn't the only celebrity to expect at the Opening Ceremony in Paris. Celine Dion and Lady Gaga are rumored not only to appear at the festivities but to sing "La Vie en Rose" together on stage. Rumors started flying on X (formerly Twitter) yesterday after the duo of iconic singers were spotted practicing together by French journalist Thierry Moreau.
The Opening Ceremony of the Paris Games is an all-day affair. In the U.S., coverage of the Opening Ceremony will begin at 12 p.m. ET. The main event will officially get underway live at 1:30 p.m. ET. If you miss the live broadcast, an enhanced encore broadcast will air in primetime on NBC. This encore presentation will start at 7:30 p.m. ET.
So don't miss a single moment, and make sure you don’t any of the Paris Games by checking out our guide on how to watch Olympics 2024.
Where to watch Opening Ceremony at Olympics 2024 for FREE
Australian viewers looking to enjoy every moment of the 2024 Paris Olympics are in luck as the entire festival of sport will be broadcast for FREE across Channel 9 and 9Gem.
Opening Ceremony at Olympics 2024 will be shown on [Channel 9/9Gem] — and you can watch for free on the 9Now streaming service, which is compatible with most streaming devices.
Additional free-to-air coverage of the Paris Olympics can be found in Canada (CBC Gem) and the U.K. (BBC iPlayer). However, these networks won’t be showing every single event, so you may need to sign up for a premium service for full coverage in these countries.
If you’re normally in one of these countries but won’t be during the Paris Olympics, you don’t have to miss out thanks to one of the best VPNs. These allow you to watch your go-to streaming wherever you are in the world. Our favorite is NordVPN.
How to watch Opening Ceremony at Olympics 2024 from anywhere
If you're not in your home country during the Olympics 2024 and are unable to live stream from wherever you are, you can still tune in via a virtual private network, or VPN. A VPN makes it appear like you're surfing the web from your home allowing you to access the streaming services you already pay for. It's legal and easy to do.
We've tested many different VPN services and our favorite is NordVPN; it offers superb speeds, excellent customer service and a no-questions-asked 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try it out first to see if it's right for you. But you've got other VPN options too, so check out our full list of the best VPN services.
Using a VPN is incredibly simple.
1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite.
2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance, if you're in the U.S. and want to view your usual U.K. service, you'd select U.K. from the list.
3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to BBC iPlayer and watch [EVENT] at the Olympics live online.
How to watch Opening Ceremony at Olympics 2024 in the U.S.
The U.S. is set to host the Olympics in 2028, with Los Angeles, California confirmed as the host city, but to enjoy this year’s Olympics held in Paris, France, viewers in America are going to be relying on NBCUniversal who will be broadcasting the Opening Ceremony across its channels including NBC, USA and MSNBC. These may be included with your cable package.
However, your best option is NBC’s streaming service Peacock as it’s set to live stream every event at the Paris Olympics promising to offer a daily recap with highlights of all the biggest medal-winning moments. To tune in, you'll need either a Premium subscription ($7.99/month) or Premium Plus ($13.99/month, which also gets rid of some ads).
Cord-cutters can opt for Sling TV. The Sling Blue package starts at $40 per month and gives you access to more than 30 channels including NBC (in select markets), USA and MSNBC. Or you could go for Fubo. Its Pro Plan costs $79.99 per month, though you get 121 channels for that hefty investment, including all the NBC channels showing Olympics 2024 events.
If you're outside the U.S. but have one of these subscriptions, you can watch the Opening Ceremony at the Olympics 2024 using a VPN such as NordVPN.
How to watch Opening Ceremony at Olympics 2024 in the UK
Back in the good old days, the BBC was the exclusive U.K. home of the Olympics, but that all changed in 2021 when Discovery came on the scene. Fortunately, many events are still free to watch on the BBC and BBC iPlayer but remember it won’t have everything.
Brits who don’t want to miss a single second of the action will need to invest in Discovery Plus. A subscription will cost you £6.99 per month (reduced to £3.99 per month during the Olympics) for the Standard plan which includes the action from Paris 2024. Having to pay to watch the Olympics is a foreign concept to many in the U.K. but for your money, you’ll get access to every single Olympics sport, including Opening Ceremony.
All sounds great, right? But if you're not in the U.K., you can still follow a Opening Ceremony at Olympics 2024 by using one of the best VPN services, such as NordVPN.
How to watch Opening Ceremony at Olympics 2024 in Canada
Olympics coverage in Canada is split across CBC, Sportsnet and TSN, with many events being live-streamed for free on the CBC Gem.
CBC Gem is a free platform, but you can pay $5.99 per month (7-day free trial) to remove some advertisements and gain access to the service’s on-demand library. However, if you don’t mind tolerating commercials, you can enjoy most of the Olympics 2024 for free.
Meanwhile, to access Sportsnet, you’ll want a Sportsnet Plus subscription which costs $19.99 per month or $179.99 per year, or you can opt for Plus Premium for $34.99 per month or $249.99 per year. Lastly, you can also subscribe to TSN which costs $19.99 a month or $199.90 per year.
If you’re a Canadian stuck abroad and want to access your regular service, you can use a VPN such as NordVPN to make your device believe it's back home in Canada.
How to watch Opening Ceremony at Olympics 2024 in Australia
Regardless of the final medal table, Aussies are the real winners of the Olympics 2024. That’s because, in the land of Oz, every single Olympic event is being broadcast for free across Channel 9 and 9Gem, with online live streams available via 9Now.
Not in Australia right now? You can simply use a VPN like NordVPN to watch all the action on 9Now as if you were back home.
If you want to watch the Olympic Games 2024 in 4K in Australia, then you'll need Stan Sport. It offers ad-free coverage of every session of every Olympic sport with the Stan Sport ad-on for $15. You will also need the Stan Premium base plan which is $21 per month.
How to watch Opening Ceremony at Olympics 2024 in New Zealand
Over in New Zealand, the Olympic Games are typically split between free service TVNZ, and premium provider Sky Sport. That’s not the case for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. TVNZ has the 2024 Paralympic Games but not any Olympics coverage
Olympic 2024 TV coverage is available for New Zealanders with a Sky Sport subscription. Alternatively, a digital, live streaming Sky Sport Now subscription will run you $29.99 per week, or $49.99 per month.
Sky Sport Now also has a limited time Olympic Games Paris 2024 Pass offer. A one-off fee of $34.99 buys you full access to Sky Sports and ESPN between July 25 and August 12 with 12 Olympic channels as well as all the other sport. Not bad.
New Zealand residents abroad during the Opening Ceremony at the Olympics 2024 can still follow along on their regular streaming service by using one of the best VPN services, such as NordVPN.
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Disclaimer
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
