Why Lady Gaga’s Paris Olympics 2024 opening performance was pre-recorded

nme.com:

Lady Gaga’s performance was pre-recorded.The launch of this year’s Olympic games took place in Paris on Friday (July 26), with the opening ceremony seeing 300,000 fans watching from the riverside as an armada of boats carried athletes along the Seine in the pouring rain.It included performances from Gojira, Celine Dion and Lady Gaga – however, some viewers were surprised to learn that the latter’s was actually pre-recorded.Taking to the stage, Gaga’s rendition of Zizi Jeanmaire’s ‘Mon Truc en Plumes’ seemed to be played live to those watching from home, but it was actually performed earlier in the day, meaning in-person attendees also watched the singer’s performance on a screen.“We were in front of Lady Gaga’s set, and by the time the music started, the staircase was empty,” France 3 journalist Yannick Le Gall, told The Telegraph.

They also added that “spectators booed and regretted having paid €180 to see nothing.”Now, the choreographer and head of dance for the Olympics Maud Le Pladec has explained why it wasn’t performed live, citing the unfortunate weather conditions on the day.“Unfortunately, it was the only [performance] that, for safety reasons, we had to pre-record late in the afternoon, once we knew for sure that it was going to rain – we had minute-by-minute updates, we had never watched the weather forecast so closely in our lives,” she recalled (via Variety).“We assessed that it was going to be too dangerous for performers, even with a few drops of rain. [Gaga] wanted to do it absolutely so we preferred to pre-record it rather than cancel it.