Written by Associated Press and Alastair Talbot
05:04 March 13, 2024, updated 05:08 March 13, 2024
- The ceremony will be broadcast live on NBC and Peacock on July 26 at noon ET.
- Clarkson hosted NFL Honors last year and Manning was an NFL analyst.
- DailyMail.com brings you all the latest international sports news
Singer Kelly Clarkson and NFL legend Peyton Manning will join the NBA as hosts for the Paris Olympics, with the high-profile pair expected to join Mike Tirico in covering the opening ceremony.
The first night of the major four-yearly international multi-sport event will be broadcast live on NBC and Peacock on July 26 at noon ET.
“It's an honor to have a front row seat,” said Manning, who won two Super Bowls during his 18 seasons in the NFL and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He currently co-hosts “Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli” with his brother, former NFL quarterback Eli Manning.
Clarkson has won three Grammy Awards and multiple Emmy Awards through her NBC talk show “The Kelly Clarkson Show.” She also hosted NFL Honors last year.
“Kelly and I are both fans of the players and the past Opening Ceremonies,” Manning said in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday. “There's going to be a lot of emotion for these athletes. We look forward to finding those stories between now and July and sharing them with our viewers.”
Manning said he would step out of his comfort zone of talking about football, but Tirico believes he and Clarkson will work well together. The trio will be located at the Trocadéro, near the ceremony's goal, with views of the Seine and the Eiffel Tower.
“Our goal and desire is for Peyton and Kelly to be Peyton and Kelly. Be who you are,” said Tirico, who will host the opening ceremony for the fourth time. “So many people have come to know and love and trust these two men. Their presence there as a part of this event really speaks to what this event is about. It falls under the umbrella of sports. We come together for sports. But it's really a cultural celebration.”
Organizers have announced that the Olympic opening ceremony along the Seine will take place at sunset. It will be the first time that the Olympic opening ceremony will be held outside a stadium, in keeping with the motto of Paris organizers: “The Games are wide open.”
Around 10,500 athletes will be paraded along a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) route through the heart of the French capital on boats on the Seine.
“Today” hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb will be stationed together on bridges along the route. As the athletes sail away, they are expected to report on the pomp of the ceremony.
Molly Solomon, executive producer and president of NBC Olympic Productions, said each host will bring out the best in each other. She called them “a fascinating combination.”
“I'm excited for the whole team,” Solomon said, noting Gasly and Kotb will have the best seats at the televised opening ceremony.
“They're going to watch the athlete boat parade from one of the bridges, and all the fans will be watching there,” she said. “They're going to bring a really unique perspective to the table. They'll be watching the ceremony just like the fans. It's going to be a great experience.”
