This ain’t Texas, but Beyoncé is still taking over the Olympics.
During the Friday, July 26, opening ceremony, Beyoncé, 42, appeared in Team USA’s official team announcement video.
“Hello girls,” Beyoncé, dressed in a patriotic Thom Browne leotard, silk taffeta varsity opera coat and matching cowboy boots, quipped as the camera panned to Simone Biles and her artistic gymnastics teammates.
After the gymnasts greeted the Grammy winner, she shouted out the “fellas” competing in the tumbling events.
T.E.A.M. U.S.A.#Beylympics #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/IW57Z474Cf
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 27, 2024
“Everybody enjoying the show? Oui Oui, Paris,” Beyoncé asked, before tweaking the lyrics from “YA YA” off her latest album, Cowboy Carter. “We snappin’ / Toms please / We wanna welcome you to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.”
She continued, “On behalf of Team USA, put them hands together / We clappin’ … T-E-A-M U-S-A.”
Beyoncé then gave viewers a “look at [Team] America,” including Biles, 27, Tara Woodall, Katie Ledecky and more athletes.
“These hopes and dreams, these superstars [who] represent us,” Beyoncé gushed. “The people of this big, bold, beautiful, complicated nation. All rooting together for them. Come on, you’ve gotta love Noah [Lyles] and Sha’Carri [Richardson]? The fastest man and woman on the planet; they’ll race the world any time [and] any place.”
Beyoncé also gave shout-outs to swimmers Caleb Dressel and Ledecky, 27, before highlighting Biles.
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“And I know you know my girl Simone,” the acclaimed vocalist added. “Born to fly, destined to inspire. We’ve got superstars and we’ve got legends. We’ve got big dreamers who fought their whole lives to get here [and] who gave up everything for one shot and made it.”
Beyoncé continued, “That pride and that joy? That’s what gets me about this time and that’s what makes me believe in this team. That’s why I cannot wait to see what they pull off in these next 16 days.”
The 2024 Olympics are held in Paris with the first rounds of competition starting on Saturday, July 28, after Friday’s opening ceremony. Team USA’s delegation participated in the procession, riding together on a boat down the Seine River. Basketball legend LeBron James and tennis champ Coco Gauff carried the American flag.
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Biles and her fellow gymnasts, however, opted to skip the parade.
“The first [gymnastics] competition is Sunday, which is women’s qualifier and, of course, she needs to rest up before that competition,” Biles’ mom, Nellie, said on the Today show earlier on Friday. “[Simone] is feeling really good. I spoke to her this morning and she’s doing great.”
Biles is one of the most awarded U.S. gymnasts in Olympic history with Paris being her comeback. In the middle of the 2020 Games in Tokyo, Biles withdrew from competition after suffering “the twisties.” After taking a mental health break, Biles planned to compete again in Paris.
