Why Lady Gaga’s Paris Olympics 2024 opening performance was pre-recorded

An organiser for the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony has shed light on why Lady Gaga’s performance was pre-recorded.

The launch of this year’s Olympic games took place in Paris on Friday (July 26), with the opening ceremony seeing 300,000 fans watching from the riverside as an armada of boats carried athletes along the Seine in the pouring rain.

It included performances from Gojira, Celine Dion and Lady Gaga – however, some viewers were surprised to learn that the latter’s was actually pre-recorded.

Taking to the stage, Gaga’s rendition of Zizi Jeanmaire’s ‘Mon Truc en Plumes’ seemed to be played live to those watching from home, but it was actually performed earlier in the day, meaning in-person attendees also watched the singer’s performance on a screen.

“We were in front of Lady Gaga’s set, and by the time the music started, the staircase was empty,” France 3 journalist Yannick Le Gall, told The Telegraph. They also added that “spectators booed and regretted having paid €180 to see nothing.”

Now, the choreographer and head of dance for the Olympics Maud Le Pladec has explained why it wasn’t performed live, citing the unfortunate weather conditions on the day.

“Unfortunately, it was the only [performance] that, for safety reasons, we had to pre-record late in the afternoon, once we knew for sure that it was going to rain – we had minute-by-minute updates, we had never watched the weather forecast so closely in our lives,” she recalled (via Variety).

“We assessed that it was going to be too dangerous for performers, even with a few drops of rain. [Gaga] wanted to do it absolutely so we preferred to pre-record it rather than cancel it. The soil would have been slippery. She was wearing heels, very near the water, there were stairs… We had to be extremely cautious.”

It was also reported that the singer stayed on-site to watch the performance, and she later shared that she “wanted nothing more than to create a performance that would warm the heart of France, celebrate French art and music”.

The Independent reported how the weather conditions on the day didn’t just impact Gaga’s performance, but also left organisers being forced to scrap plans to use the traditional format and instead opt for the display on the Seine.

In other news about the ceremony, Gojira have recently responded to accusations that their three-minute slot was “Satanic” – explaining that it highlighted the country’s history instead – and Celine Dion closed out the ceremony with a moving rendition of Edith Piaf’s “L’Hymne à l’amour”.

The latter moved viewers around the world as it marked her triumphant return to the stage, having not performed in four years following a diagnosis of Stiff Person Syndrome. Check out viewers’ reactions to the ceremony here.