2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in the context of Lady Gaga

The United States of America (USA), represented by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris from July 26 to August 11, 2024. U.S. athletes have appeared in every Summer Olympic Games of the modern era, except for the 1980 edition in Moscow, when America led a sixty-six-nation boycott in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. As Los Angeles is hosting the 2028 Summer Olympics, the United States marched penultimately before the homebound French team entered Place du Trocadéro during the parade of nations segment of the opening ceremony. Additionally, an American segment featuring H.E.R. and Tom Cruise from Paris, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg, and Dr. Dre from Long Beach, was performed during the closing ceremony.

The opening ceremony flag-bearers for the United States were LeBron James and Coco Gauff. James, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, is the first male basketball player to be chosen. At 20 years of age, Gauff is the youngest American athlete and the first tennis player to be so honored. The closing ceremony flag-bearers were Nick Mead and Katie Ledecky.

France was the host nation of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris from 26 July to 11 August 2024. France is one of five countries to have appeared in every Summer Olympic Games of the modern era, alongside Australia, Great Britain, Greece, and Switzerland. There were 573 athletes that competed at this edition, becoming the nation's largest delegation since the 1900 Olympics, which were also held in Paris. They won 64 medals, including 16 gold medals. As a result, France finished fifth in the medal table, marking their first top-five finish since the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Two days before the opening ceremony, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that the French Alps would host the 2030 Winter Olympics, returning the Winter Olympics to its birthplace after 38 years. The opening ceremony will take place on 1 February 2030.

The 2024 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations within the 2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony took place on 26 July 2024 on the Seine river in Paris, France. Athletes and officials from each participating team marched into the Jardins du Trocadéro preceded by their flag and placard bearer. Each flag bearer was chosen either by the team's National Olympic Committee or by the athletes themselves. On 13 December 2021, it was announced that the opening ceremony would feature athletes being transported by boat from Pont d'Austerlitz to Pont d'Iéna along the Seine river. The 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) route passed landmarks such as the Louvre, Notre-Dame de Paris, and Place de la Concorde, and feature cultural presentations. The official protocol took place at a 30,000-seat "mini-stadium" at the Trocadéro. For the first time in Olympic history, the parade procedure was not held during a separate portion of the opening ceremony, with the parade being integrated during the artistic programme, which simultaneously allowed for the athletes to sail on their boats during the artistic portion.

Organizers stated that the ceremony would be the most "spectacular and accessible opening ceremony in Olympic history", with Estanguet stating that it would be free to attend, and estimating that it could attract as many as 300,000 spectators. In addition, similar to the 2020 Summer Olympics, each team had the option of having a male flag bearer and a female flag bearer in an effort to promote gender equality.

Individual Neutral Athletes was the name used to represent approved 32 individual Russian and Belarusian athletes at the 2024 Summer Olympics, after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned those nations' previous designations due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 that continued into the duration of the games. The IOC country code is AIN, from the French athlètes individuels neutres.

The delegation was banned from using the Olympic flag and Olympic anthem, which was the usual custom for neutral designated athletes in previous games. They instead used a teal flag depicting a circular AIN emblem and a one-off instrumental anthem, both assigned by the IOC. Individual neutral athletes had to be first background checked and then approved by each sport's international federation, and then by a special panel created by the IOC. Due to the AIN participating as a neutral team under certain conditions, the delegation did not march the parade of nations during the opening ceremony and did not receive an official ranking in the medal tables.