With the Paris Olympics just a day away, the French metal band Gojira has been announced to perform at the opening ceremony for the XXXIII Olympic Games. As reported by Le Parisien, Gojira will team up with opera singer Marina Viotti for a special performance. Other artists set to perform include Lady Gaga, Aya Nakamura, and Celine Dion.

Although Gojira may not have the same level of global fame as some of the other performers, their appearance will mark the first time a metal band has played at an Olympic opening ceremony.

This moment is significant not just for Gojira but for the entire genre of extreme music. The opening ceremony is one of the most watched events globally, with around 300,000 attendees and millions more tuning in worldwide.

SuperVirtual, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Few rock acts have graced the Olympic stage over the years, and none have come from the metal or extreme music genres. Past rock performers at the Olympics include Kiss (2002 Salt Lake Winter Games), Jimmy Page (2008 Beijing Olympics), Alanis Morissette (2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics), Snow Patrol (2012 London Olympics), The Who (2012 London Olympics), Paul McCartney (2012 London Olympics), Queen (2012 London Olympics), and Muse (2012 London Olympics).

The Paris Olympic Games opening ceremony is scheduled for July 26th at 7:30 PM local time (1:30 PM EST). For the first time, the ceremony will be held along the Seine River in Paris instead of in a stadium.

Gojira is one of the most notable modern metal acts, and the biggest metal band to come out of France. They have built a global following with their innovative metal compositions and their commitment to themes of climate change and environmental conservation. The band has received Grammy nominations for their albums Magma (2016) and Fortitude (2021), and they have toured with major acts like Metallica and Slipknot.