As the world winds down from Eurovision, this year it gears up for the Summer Olympics, held this year in Paris, France. France’s 2024 Eurovision representative, Slimane, will perform at the opening ceremony on July 26th.
Slimane to perform at opening ceremony
Slimane announced via Instagram earlier this week that he, accompanied by 50 members of the Grand Symphony Orchestra, would perform at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. This monumentous achievement comes eight years after he won France’s edition of The Voice and just a few months after scoring fourth at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with his song “Mon Amour”. We don’t know yet if his Eurovision entry will be a part of his performance in Paris, but we hope so!
Olympics to be hosted in France
The 2024 Summer Olympics will take place in Paris, France this year. Like Eurovision, the Olympics are a televised, international contest where countries can show off their most talented people. Countries can cement their images in the minds of their neighbors by performing well–or terribly–at music, or at sports. And much like Eurovision, this is bound to get political, despite the organizers’ insistence that the competition is neutral. The Olympics do, however, run a lot longer than Eurovision, this year lasting over two weeks.
France’s Eurovision journey
France is a powerhouse in Eurovision, debuting in the first Contest in 1956. Their first entries reportedly finished in second place, but no scores were ever published. Since then, France has gone on to win the Contest five times. The most recent win came in 1977, with Marie Myriam’s “L’oiseau et l’enfant” scoring 136 points. After several years spent at the bottom of the scoreboard in the 2000s, France has seen a rebirth in results starting in 2016. Amir finished in 6th position for France with “J’ai cherché”, followed by 12th, 13th and 16th places respectively.
For 2024, France continued the internal selection trend, choosing Slimane with his song “Mon amour”. At the close of voting in Malmö, France finished in 4th place, earning 445 points.
Are you excited to see Slimane at the Opening Ceremony? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads and Bluesky for all your Eurovision news!
News Source: Slimane
Photo Credit: Jens Buttner/DPA
Thomas James