Three years ago, the Olympics looked a lot different. The Tokyo Games were postponed a year due to COVID, with many events held in empty stadiums. As such, the whole event was scaled back compared to the usual affair.
However, the Paris Games will be a return to form. The French capital will host a spectacular opening ceremony along the River Seine and introduce Breakdancing to the line-up of sports.
If you’d like to catch all the action of the XXXIII Olympiad, we have everything you need to know, including the start date and time of the opening ceremony, the channels and streaming services the games will be on, the broad schedule of events and more.
When is the Paris 2024 Olympics?
There’s not long to wait, as the Paris Olympics kick off on Friday 26 July 2024 with the opening ceremony.
The closing ceremony will take place on Sunday 11 August 2024. A few weeks after that, the Paralympics will begin.
Paris 2024 / Damien Le Gallo / Viparis
Paris 2024 / Damien Le Gallo / Viparis
Paris 2024 / Damien Le Gallo / Viparis
When does the Paris 2024 Olympic Opening Ceremony start?
Here’s what time the opening ceremony for this year’s Olympics takes place across the world on Friday 26 July 2024:
- UK – 6:30pm BST
- East Coast US – 1:30pm ET
- West Coast US – 10:30am PT
- France – 7:30pm CET
The organisers have dubbed this as the “largest-ever” opening ceremony, drawing on the natural sunset in the city as the spectacle progresses.
There will be a 6KM crossing along the Seine, with artistic performances near the iconic monuments that Paris is known for, including the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame and the Louvre.
The athletes will be on the water in boats, marking a change from the usual parade through the stadium. If previous games are anything to go by, we may get appearances from French artists, bands and troupes, and perhaps a few famous faces making a cameo or two.
This will all culminate in the lighting of the Olympic Torch, the long-standing signifier that the Games have officially begun.
How to watch the Olympics in the UK
There are several ways to catch the action of the Olympics in the UK. The most popular events will be available on the BBC. However, if you want completely unfiltered access, you’ll want access to Eurosport.
Here’s more information on how to watch them on traditional TV, and for streaming.
Broadcast TV
For standard access, coverage will be split between BBC One and BBC Two in the UK, with over 250 hours of live coverage airing. Clare Balding and Gabby Logan will be joined by plenty more sports personalities for commentary.
You can watch both these channels if you have a TV licence, with access via Freeview, Virgin, Sky and EE TV/BT.
If you’d prefer to watch every sport available (including the more obscure ones), then your best option is Eurosport. Coverage will be split across Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2, starting from 7am until 10:30pm every day that the competition is on. These channels are available as premium add-ons for Sky, Virgin Media and EE TV/BT.
Both the BBC and Eurosport will be airing highlights throughout the Games, should you miss anything.
Online
If you prefer to stream your content, then both the BBC and Eurosport have options available.
BBC iPlayer not only includes live coverage from BBC One and Two, but a dedicated livestream called Olympics Extra with additional events. This website is free to access, providing you have a TV licence.
Meanwhile, Eurosport content can be watched via a Discovery+ Standard subscription. From 17 July until the end of the Olympics, this will cost just £3.99 per month, and the platform will honour this price until December 2024. After that, the price will increase to the standard amount of £6.99 per month.
Subscribing to Discovery+ grants access to both Eurosport 1 and 2, seven pop-up Olympic channels, gold medal alerts in the app and curated playlists for various sports.
Olympics on Discovery+
Olympics on Discovery+
Olympics on Discovery+
How to watch the Olympics in the US
In the US, the rights to the Olympics fall to NBC, rather than multiple holders. Here are all the ways to tune in.
Broadcast TV
You’ll be able to watch the opening ceremony and sporting events from Team USA over on NBC, which will air over nine hours of events every day, along with profiles and highlights. Some events will also air on USA Network, E!, CNBC and Golf Channel.
These channels will be available if you have a cable TV package with them included. If you don’t then there is another way.
Online
If you don’t have access to the NBC TV channels, then your best bet is to sign up for Peacock. This will include an Olympics hub with playlists to not only different events, but specific athletes such as Simone Biles.
There will also be celebrity hosts for certain segments, including renowned rapper Snoop Dogg and host of the Call Her Daddy podcast, Alex Cooper. The app will include multiview for different sports, and AI-generated roundups of the events of the day.
If you want to sign up for Peacock, then we suggest doing it before 17 July, as prices will be increasing from 18 July. Peacock Premium (with ads) will increase by $2 to $7.99 per month and Peacock Premium Plus (mostly ad-free) will go up by $2 to $13.99 per month. The annual options will also be increasing.
Livestreams, highlights and commentary will also be shown on NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, the NBC Olympics app, the NBC Sports app and the NBC app.
Finally, you can also access NBC’s channels via premium TV subscriptions such as Fubo, Sling, Hulu with live TV and YouTube TV.
How to watch the Olympics from abroad
If you’re travelling while the Olympics are on, then it’s likely that the Games will still be broadcast in your local country. Here’s the official worldwide channel list.
Alternatively, you can read our guides on how to watch BBC iPlayer from abroad, and how to watch Peacock from abroad.
Paris 2024 Olympic games schedule
If you want a full breakdown of timings for each day, then check out the official Olympics schedule. However, here’s what dates each sport will air, in alphabetical order.
Some take place before the opening ceremony, and not all sports are each day. The official website has a breakdown of which days are medal events:
| 3×3 Basketball | 30 July to 5 August |
| Archery | 25 July to 4 August |
| Artistic Gymnastics | 27 July to 5 August |
| Artistic Swimming | 5 to 10 August |
| Athletics | 1 to 11 August |
| Badminton | 27 July to 5 August |
| Basketball | 27 July to 11 August |
| Beach Volleyball | 27 July to 10 August |
| Boxing | 27 July to 10 August |
| Breaking | 9 to 10 August |
| Canoe Slalom | 27 July to 5 August |
| Canoe Sprint | 6 to 10 August |
| Cycling BMX Freestyle | 30 to 31 August |
| Cycling BMX Racing | 1 to 2 August |
| Cycling Mountain Bike | 28 to 29 July |
| Cycling Road | 27 July to 4 August |
| Cycling Track | 5 to 11 August |
| Diving | 27 July to 10 August |
| Equestrian | 27 July to 6 August |
| Fencing | 27 July to 4 August |
| Football | 24 July to 10 August |
| Golf | 1 to 10 August |
| Handball | 25 July to 11 August |
| Hockey | 27 July to 9 August |
| Judo | 27 July to 3 August |
| Marathon Swimming | 8 to 9 August |
| Modern Pentathlon | 8 to 11 August |
| Rhythmic Gymnastics | 8 to 10 August |
| Rowing | 27 July to 3 August |
| Rugby Sevens | 24 to 30 July |
| Sailing | 28 July to 8 August |
| Shooting | 27 July to 5 August |
| Skateboarding | 27 July to 7 August |
| Sport Climbing | 5 to 10 August |
| Surfing | 27 to 31 July |
| Swimming | 27 July to 4 August |
| Table Tennis | 27 July to 10 August |
| Taekwondo | 7 to 10 August |
| Tennis | 27 July to 4 August |
| Trampoline Gymnastics | 2 August |
| Triathlon | 30 July to to 5 August |
| Volleyball | 27 July to 11 August |
| Water Polo | 27 July to 11 August |
| Weightlifting | 7 to 11 August |
| Wrestling | 5 to 11 August |
