PARIS, France — At the Parade of Nations at the Opening Ceremony for the 2024 Paris Olympics, a first-time Olympian and a four-time Olympic veteran will team up to be flag bearers for the United States.
The International Olympic Committee decided in 2020 that national delegations would have two flagbearers — one male, one female — at the opening ceremony at an Olympics, a move to promote gender parity.
Who are the flagbearers for the U.S. Olympic team at the Opening Ceremony?
Tennis star Coco Gauff and basketball legend LeBron James were selected by fellow Team USA athletes to be flag bearers for the U.S. Olympic team at Friday’s opening ceremony.
Gauff, the reigning U.S. Open champion, is set to make her Olympic debut at the Paris Games and will be the first tennis athlete to carry the U.S. flag. She will also become the youngest Olympian in U.S. history to carry the flag.
James is playing in his fourth Olympic Games and becomes the third basketball player — and the first men’s player — to carry the U.S. flag at the start of an Olympics. Fellow U.S. star and first-time Olympian Stephen Curry, on behalf of the U.S. men's team, nominated James for the flagbearer role.
How to watch the Opening Ceremony
The 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony officially begins on Friday, July 26 at 7:30 p.m. local time in Paris. That means it will start at 1:30 p.m. Eastern, 12:30 p.m. Central, 11:30 a.m. Mountain and 10:30 a.m. Pacific.
NBC and Peacock will have live coverage of the Opening Ceremony beginning at Noon Eastern.
Telemundo will also provide Spanish-language coverage beginning at 1 p.m. ET.
Primetime coverage of the Opening Ceremony will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and Peacock.