PARIS, July 27 — After a century-long wait, Paris welcomed back the Olympic Games with a rainy yet historic ceremony held on the River Seine.
French President Emmanuel Macron declared the Games open before the waterborne ceremony reached its climax when Teddy Riner and Marie-Jose Perec lit the cauldron with the Olympic flame, reported Xinhua.
Chinese Vice-President cum President Xi Jinping’s Special Representative Han Zheng was among a host of international dignitaries in attendance at the opening ceremony.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach expressed his gratitude to the organisers and the French people.
“You are bringing our Olympic Agenda reforms to life by making these Games wide open. All of us will experience Olympic Games that are more inclusive, more urban, younger and more sustainable — the first Olympic Games with full gender parity on the field of play,” he said.
For the first time in Olympic history, the opening ceremony took place outside the host city’s main Olympic stadium. From the Austerlitz Bridge to the Trocadero, around 6,800 athletes assembled behind their flagbearers and cruised down a 6km stretch of the Seine on 85 boats.
Despite the rainy conditions, the parade allowed athletes to bask in the beauty of Paris’ most famed monuments, including the Louvre, Place de la Concorde, the Grand Palais, and the Eiffel Tower, with some playing host to the opening ceremony’s musical performances.
The 2024 Olympics marks the third time that Paris has hosted the Summer Games. The first was in 1900, and the last was a century ago, in 1924.
Hours before the opening ceremony, arson attacks on French railways caused widespread delays and cancellations to rail services across Europe, casting a shadow over the sporting extravaganza.
However, the attacks did not dampen the mood surrounding the ceremony, as crowds crammed the Seine’s banks and bridges to watch.
China has dispatched a delegation of 405 athletes, including 42 Olympic champions, who will compete in 236 events across 30 sports at the Games.
Meanwhile, a host of celebrities and political leaders were seen in the city and at the ceremony before the sporting events began.
Performers including Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, and French-Malian R&B star Aya Nakamura all took part in the ceremony itself, with Lady Gaga photographed as she practiced her routine on steps leading down to the River Seine.
Presidents and Prime Ministers from around the world travelled to Paris, with newly elected British Prime Minister Keir Starmer making the short crossing to France, even though he was forced to swap the Eurostar train for a flight.
Rapper Snoop Dogg carried the Olympic torch through the streets of Paris’ Saint-Denis district and singer Pharrell Williams also did his spell as the torch reached the Parisian streets, something that no doubt made him ‘happy’.
French football hero Thierry Henry was a popular torch carrier, and many people from the entertainment world were also seen on the Parisian streets and in VIP areas.
Legendary footballer Zinedine Zidane helped keep the flame moving as the ceremony got underway.
American singer John Legend and his wife Chrissy Teigen strolled along the red carpet at the Trocadero, as did singers Kelly Clarkson and Ariana Grande and British actress Cynthia Erivo.
They were joined by a host of former sporting stars, including former athlete Michael Johnson, track cyclist Sir Chris Hoy, sprinter Carl Lewis, gymnast Nadia Comaneci, tennis stars Serena Williams, Amelie Mauresmo and Rafael Nadal, as well as basketball aces Tony Parker and Pau Gasol, many of whom took part in the relay of the Olympic flame in the closing minutes of the ceremony.
— Bernama
