French extreme metal icons Gojira to play Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony alongside Lady Gaga, Céline Dion and more

Gojira, Lady Gaga and Celine Dion — (Image credit: Getty Images)

The lineup for the prestigious opening ceremony for this year's Olympics has been confirmed - and it includes a certain beloved French metal band who will be mixing it up with pop royalty on their home turf. This year's games take place in Paris, France from this weekend, with the opening ceremony due to take place tomorrow, Friday, July 26.

As reported by Time Out, the ceremony, which will feature a mix of both international stars and French artists across a wide range of genres, will include performances by Lady Gaga, Céline Dion...and extreme metal heavyweights Gojira. Not the kind of lineup you'd see at most festivals, right?! It gets more tantalising: Gojira are set to share the stage with opera singer Marina Viotti for a unique, one-off performance.

Time Out also reports that French singer Aya Nakamura will be appearing during the ceremony, performing a new version of a classic track by fellow French native Charles Aznavour. Joining Aya, Gojira and Marina, Gaga and Celine will be Sofiane Pamart and Juliette Armanet, performing a duet, plus Philippe Katerine, Cerrone, and French rapper Rim'K of hip hop collective 113.

"The opening ceremony is orchestrated by renowned stage director Thomas Jolly," Time Out explain, "who has invited a stellar cast of local and international stars to celebrate the rich history and diversity of French musical culture."

The ceremony will be broadcast live from 6.30pm UK time tomorrow night on BBC One.

Gojira's most recent album Fortitude was released in 2021. In a glowing 9/10 review for Metal Hammer, Alec Chillingworth wrote of the record: "Fortitude is everything you wanted from Gojira and more: a breathtaking showcase of heaviness and dedication to the craft, teasing out tones, passages and emotional resonance other bands just can’t access. It’s metal for the masses, and Gojira’s crowning achievement. "

Merlin was promoted to Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has written for Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He has also presented and produced the Metal Hammer Podcast, presented the Metal Hammer Radio Show and is probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.