Kelly Clarkson Says Olympics Opening Ceremony Will Make People Cry

Kelly Clarkson says the Paris Olympics opening ceremony will be one to remember!

On July 26, she appeared on TODAY alongside NFL legend Peyton Manning and NBC Olympics primetime host Mike Tirico to talk about the upcoming event. The trio are set to host the Paris Olympics opening ceremony for NBC when it gets underway later today at 10:30 a.m. PT/ 1:30 p.m. ET.

During the trio’s chat with Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie, Tirico said he and his co-hosts have already seen a snippet of what’s to come for the opening ceremony.

“So, you guys have seen it! You know what the rest of us cannot know,” Savannah said.

“Kind of,” he replied.

“We’ve seen stand-ins” Clarkson interjected.

“The difference with this one is they can’t do the dress rehearsal because it’s all through the city,” he said. “They want to keep it somewhat quiet, so there’s a lot of unknowns for them and for all of us.”

Historically, the Olympic games have featured athletes from all over the world marching into a stadium to commemorate the beginning of the event. But this year, athletes will arrive by boats along the “main artery” of Paris, the Seine River.

“We’ve seen empty boats coming down the Seine. Obviously tonight we’ll see 10,000 athletes on the boats,” Manning said. “The emotion — there’ll be some tears, there’ll be some dancing. I’m looking forward to watching these athletes today.”

Because they will not having a full dress rehearsal, Clarkson said the athletes will probably feel some “pressure because no one has rehearsed it in real time.”

However, once the opening ceremony officially gets underway, she said she’s certain that the event will touch people’s hearts.

“It’s beautiful. I’m afraid to talk because I’m afraid I’m going to say something I shouldn’t,” she said, laughing. “Everyone is afraid of me talking, but it’s so it’s so magical. I can’t imagine people won’t be crying. It’s a beautiful thing.”

NBC’s coverage of the Olympics will start with a preview show that begins at 9 a.m. PT/ 12 p.m. ET. If fans wish to stream the opening ceremony then they can do so by tuning into NBC, Peacock and the NBC and NBC Olympic apps. 

A complete schedule of the Games can be found here.

Tune in to the Paris Olympics on NBC and Peacock.