Lady Gaga kicked off the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony in dazzling fashion on Friday, but her performance was actually pre-recorded. Despite appearing to power through technical difficulties and inclement weather, Gaga’s set along the Seine River was filmed hours earlier.
The Grammy Award-winning artist performed a tribute to French star Zizi Jeanmaire with her rendition of “Mon Truc en Plumes.” According to the Associated Press, Gaga was seen warming up onstage about three hours before the ceremony began and performed for about an hour before exiting the stage and waving to fans.
Olympic and Paralympic opening ceremony choreographer Maud le Pladec explained the decision to pre-record the performance to Variety. “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,” said Pladec.
“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,” Pladec continued. “The soil would have been slippery. She was wearing heels, very near the water, there were stairs… We had to be extremely cautious.”
Following the performance, Gaga watched the ceremony from her dressing room before returning to her hotel. She later shared a statement about the experience on social media.
“Although I am not a French artist, I have always felt a very special connection with French people and singing French music—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,” Gaga added.
