After years of waiting, training and preparing, the world’s most skilled athletes are off to the races with the 2024 Olympic Games after a spectacular Opening Ceremony on the Seine in Paris Friday (July 26).

The festivities began with each participating country’s athletes sailing in on boats in a parade down France’s famous river, and waving excitedly at fans gathered to watch, marking the first time in history that the Summer Games’ opening ceremony hasn’t taken place in a stadium. As they each filed in, hundreds of singers, dancers and instrumentalists simultaneously converged for a string of big-budget performances, undeterred by the pouring rain that fell on Paris throughout the four-hour showcase.

The opening event took place across multiple Parisian landmarks, divided into different symbolic chapters named after French terms such as “Synchronicité,” “Liberté” and “Egalité.” Through each display of music, lights and special effects, a mysterious hooded figure carried the Olympic torch on its way to the cauldron, the lighting of which at the end of the ceremony — following a monthslong relay that included Snoop Dogg, Pharrell Williams, BTS’ Jin and thousands more as torchbearers — signified the beginning of the two-week competition.

From show-stopping performances led by international superstars such as Lady Gaga, Celine Dion and Aya Nakamura to immersive artistic tributes to French culture and values, the 2024 Olympics were launched into motion with unprecedented levels of pizazz.

Keep reading to see Billboard‘s top moments from the Opening Ceremony, in order of appearance, below.