Lady Gaga's Choreographer Reveals Star's Summer Olympics Performance Was Almost Canceled Due to Rain

• Lady Gaga's performance at the Summer Olympics opening ceremony was nearly canceled due to rainy weather, according to her choreographer
• The star's performance was pre-recorded for safety reasons, though she still sang and danced live
• Gaga's performance was the first to kick off this year's Olympic Games

Lady Gaga’s performance of a lifetime at the 2024 Summer Olympics was apparently very “dangerous” work.

The superstar, 38, stunned fans at the opening ceremony on Friday, July 26 when she danced down a golden staircase along the Seine river in Paris while singing a riveting cover of Zizi Jeanmaire's "Mon Truc en Plumes.” Though the energetic performance went on without a major hitch, choreographer Maud le Pladec — who worked with Gaga for months in preparation for the Olympics’ opening number — told Variety it was nearly called off due to rainy weather.

“Unfortunately, it was the only [performance] that, for safety reasons, we had to pre-record late in the afternoon, once we knew for sure that it was going to rain,” le Pladec shared in a recent interview, adding that the group was going off “minute-by-minute updates.”

“We had never watched the weather forecast so closely in our lives,” she continued. “We assessed that it was going to be too dangerous for performers, even with a few drops of rain. [Gaga] wanted to do it absolutely so we preferred to pre-record it rather than cancel it.”

Even with the safety plan in place, Gaga, joined by a troupe of dancers, still sang and danced — and played the piano — live on Friday, all while wearing a full Dior Haute Couture look in heels featuring a black feather jacket over a matching satin bustier and panties.

However, le Pladec revealed several reasons why the performance could’ve gone awry with the rain. “The soil would have been slippery. She was wearing heels, very near the water, there were stairs,” she noted of Gaga. “We had to be extremely cautious.”

Fortunately, Gaga’s performance will go down in Olympic history as the first to kick off the 2024 Summer Games and the first opening ceremony to ever occur outside of a stadium. The icon reflected on the epic moment shortly afterward in a lengthy social media post, calling it “a gift I’ll never forget.”

“I feel so completely grateful to have been asked to open the Paris @Olympics 2024 this year,” she began in her caption. “I am also humbled to be asked by the Olympics organizing committee to sing such a special French song — a song to honor the French people and their tremendous history of art, music, and theatre.”

Gaga continued, “Although I am not a French artist, I have always felt a very special connection with French people and singing French music—I wanted nothing more than to create a performance that would warm the heart of France, celebrate French art and music, and on such a momentous occasion remind everyone of one of the most magical cities on earth — Paris.”

The Grammy winner went on to share how she “studied French choreography” and “rehearsed tirelessly” to deliver a brilliant performance, concluding, “I hope you love this performance as much as I do. And to everyone in France, thank you so much for welcoming me to your country to sing in honor of you — it’s a gift I’ll never forget!”

Gaga capped off her celebratory weekend by disclosing her engagement to longtime boyfriend Michael Polansky to French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal at the Paris Olympics. Per a TikTok video posted by Attal on Sunday, July 28, the “LoveGame” singer can be heard introducing Polansky as "my fiancé" as the trio watched a swimming event together.

Reps for Gaga did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Shortly after news of her engagement broke, Gaga took to her Instagram Stories to thank her French fans who supported her in Paris this past week and offered them a special reward. “I’m so deeply touched by my French fans this week outside the hotel. I’m gonna come out and say goodbye tonight with a few seconds of #LG7,” she wrote of her forthcoming studio album before going outside to play new music, per fan snippets posted on social media.

After teasing that she’s back in the studio working on her next project, a source told PEOPLE that Gaga has "never been happier,” adding, "She’s feeling the most creative she’s ever been."