The Paris Olympics have officially launched, and we’ve already seen quite an athletic display — by which we mean, of course, Gojira just went berserker during their improbable opening ceremony performance today (July 26th).
As reported earlier in the week, the bombastic French progressive heavies were tapped to perform for their country — nay, the world — through the opening ceremonies of the XXXIII Olympiad. Unusually, the performance did not take part inside a stadium, but rather outside of Paris’ Conciergerie, a former palace that served as a prison during the French Revolution and held Marie-Antoinette before she was beheaded.
Gojira blasted into their collaboration with opera singer Marina Viotti while stationed on various towers of the palatial building. The French-Swiss mezzo-soprano, meanwhile, sung while passing through on a float. After adding operatic vocals to Gojira’s rendition of “Ah! Ça Ira,” a song popular during the French Revolution, she went on to sing a portion of Georges Bizet’s Carmen.
Most Olympics limit their heavy metals to an admittedly impressive array of gold, silver and bronze medals. Maybe a shotput. This Gojira performance was next level incredible, and hopefully not the last time we get a taste of the heaviest matter of the universe at the Olympics.
Gojira and Viotti were not the only musical component of the opening ceremonies. The event also featured performances from Lady Gaga, Aya Nakamura, Céline Dion, a collaboration between pianist Sofiane Pamart and singer Juliette Armanet, Parisian rapper Rim’K, and more. This was all orchestrated by stage director Thomas Jolly, who intended to deliver a mix of local and international talent on a global stage.