Kelly Clarkson, Peyton Manning to Host Olympics Opening Ceremony

Emmy and Grammy-winner Kelly Clarkson, SUPER BOWL champion Peyton Manning will join two-time Sports Emmy Award-winner and NBC Olympics primetime host Mike Tirico to host NBCUniversal's coverage of the Opening Ceremony of the Games of the xxIII Olympiad in Paris this summer.

The announcement was made on last night's episode of the Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, ahead of their appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show today.

Plans for the highly anticipated Opening Ceremony in Paris are unlike any other. Rather than a stadium, the organizers are turning one of the world's most famous waterways, the River Seine, into the world's biggest theatrical stage. A four-mile-long flotilla of more than 90 boats will carry thousands of athletes from more than 200 countries past hundreds of thousands of spectators seated on the banks of The Seine and finish at the Eiffel Tower.

Joining Kelly, Peyton, and Mike for NBCU's Opening Ceremony coverage will be TODAY Show hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb. The Olympic veterans will be stationed together on a bridge along the route, reporting on the pageantry and excitement as the athletes sail by. Clarkson, Manning, and Tirico will be positioned at the Trocadero near the ceremony's finish, with spectacular views of The Seine and Eiffel Tower. Additional Opening Ceremony commentators will be announced soon.

NBC and Peacock will present live coverage of the Opening Ceremony on Friday, July 26, beginning at Noon ET. Telemundo will provide Spanish-language coverage beginning at 1 p.m. ET. Primetime coverage will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and Peacock.

“This summer's Opening Ceremony will be unlike anything we've ever seen, and we're thrilled to have Kelly and Peyton join Mike to describe all the spectacular sights and sounds happening along The Seine leading to the lighting of the cauldron,” said Molly Solomon, Executive Producer & President, NBC Olympics Production. “Savannah and Hoda have one of the most exciting Opening Ceremony positions ever, reporting from a bridge above the river as athletes from around the globe sail by in a parade of nations the world has never seen.”

Tirico will host his fourth Opening Ceremony this summer. He has been honored with the Sports Emmy for Outstanding Sports Personality – Studio Host in each of the last two years, highlighted by his role as primetime host of the Beijing Olympics (2022) and Tokyo Olympics (2021). Tirico also hosted the PyeongChang Opening Ceremony in 2018. 

This is the first time Clarkson and Manning are joining NBCU's Olympic coverage although Manning did star in a promotional spot to kick off NBCUniversal's fall campaign for Paris 2024. Clarkson, the original American Idol, currently hosts and produces the hourlong The Kelly Clarkson Show, distributed by NBCUniversal Syndication Studios. Since retiring from the NFL, Manning founded Omaha Productions and has won two Sports Emmy Awards for Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli, an alternative broadcast on ESPN2 that he co-hosts with his brother and former NFL quarterback Eli Manning.

In addition to attending numerous Olympic Games as hosts of TODAY, Guthrie co-hosted NBCU's Opening Ceremony coverage for the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021 and Beijing Olympic Winter Games in 2022, while Kotb co-hosted the Opening Ceremony for the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.

In Paris this summer, the world's greatest athletes will compete against the backdrop of one of the most beautiful cities in the world where the modern Olympic Games were conceived 130 years ago. This will be the third time Paris has hosted the Olympics (1900 and 1924), tying London for the most as a Summer Games host. Los Angeles (1932, 1984) will tie those two cities when it hosts the first Summer Games in the U.S. in 32 years in 2028.

The organizers of Paris 2024 are reimagining the Games to make them more accessible to the public and to showcase their city to the world. In a first, competitions will be held amidst iconic Parisian landmarks – beach volleyball at the Eiffel Tower, equestrian at the Palace of Versailles, and urban sports at Place de la Concorde.

Last May, NBCU announced that the NBC broadcast network and streaming service Peacock will be the company's primary platforms for its coverage of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, scheduled for July 26-Aug. 11.

NBCU owns the U.S. media rights to the Olympic Games through 2032, which are scheduled for Paris (2024), Milan Cortina (2026), Los Angeles (2028) and Brisbane (2032). The host city for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games has not yet been chosen.

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PHOTO CREDIT TODD OWYOUNG/NBC

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