Celine Dion, Lady Gaga headline Paris 2024 Olympic Opening Ceremony performances

The 2024 Olympics started off with a bang on Friday, with an extravagant and memorable Opening Ceremony in Paris. The festivities, which honored the history of France and Paris, included some big names performing in the ceremony, which took place in and around the buildings along the Seine River.

The ceremonies were headlined by Lady Gaga at the beginning of the parade of nations and Celine Dion to close the ceremonies after the Olympic cauldron had been lit.

Dion's emotional performance on top of the Eiffel Tower came in one of her first public appearances since being diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome. She sang a beautiful, passionate rendition of Edith Piaf's "Hymne à l'amour" to finish out the festivities.

Lady Gaga, who appeared on the banks of the Seine for a performance of Zizi Jeanmaire's "Mon truc en plumes." The performance was complete with plenty of plumes, with lots of pink feathers, a dramatic train and a group of dancers.

Lady Gaga's cabaret-inspired act, which included a chorus line and a performance from the musician on piano, seemingly paid tribute to Jeanmaire's performance of the song on the "Ed Sullivan Show" in 1965.

In a lengthy post on social media, Lady Gaga spoke about her performance and about the opportunity to sing in the Olympic ceremony and honor Jeanmaire's song. "Although I am not a French artist, I have always felt a very special connection with French people and singing French music," she said in the post. "I wanted nothing more than to create a performance that would warm the heart of France, celebrate French art and music, and on such a momentous occasion remind everyone of one of the most magical cities on earth—Paris."

Dion's performance, meanwhile was actually a return to the Olympics: She performed at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.

While Lady Gaga and Dion were the biggest names of the night, there were plenty of other artists to perform at the event.

Following Lady Gaga, French metal band Gojira played from the windows of a building filled with faux-headless singers, dressed à la Marie Antoinette — a wild, audacious performance that went viral.

Next, Aya Nakamura came out to perform alongside France's Republican Guard, whose band accompanied the Malian-French pop star. Nakamura performed her hit "Djadja," which has charted internationally but hasn't gotten as much traction in the U.S.

As the rain picked up, the ceremony continued with French-Algerian rapper Rim'K, who was raised in a suburb of Paris.

As the sun went down, French singer-songwriter Juliette Armanet sang a rendition of John Lennon's "Imagine," which has become a tradition at the Olympics — honoring international cooperation through sport and calling for worldwide peace. Armanet was accompanied by pianist Sofiane Pamart on a flaming piano.