Celine Dion, Lady Gaga ignite rainy Paris Games opening
PARIS—French President Emmanuel Macron declared the Olympic Games open on Friday in a soaking wet ceremony as the crowds cheered on athletes sailing along the Seine, dancers took to the roofs of Paris and Lady Gaga sang a French cabaret song.
France’s three-time Olympic gold medalists Marie-Jose Perec and Teddy Riner then lit the Olympic cauldron, suspended on a hot-air balloon, before Canada’s Celine Dion sang Edith Piaf’s “Hymn to Love” in her first public performance in years, drawing huge cheers. The 30-meter-high (98 feet) balloon carrying a 7-meter (23 feet) diameter ring of fire took to the air.
“We are so proud of this show, I’m so proud that sport and culture were celebrated in such a fantastic manner tonight, it was a first and the result was fantastic despite the rain,” Paris 2024 organizing president Tony Estanguet told reporters.
A fleet of barges took the competitors on a 6-kilometer stretch of the river alongside some of the French capital’s most famous landmarks, as performers recreated some of the sports to be showcased on floating platforms.
Beach volleyball at the Eiffel Tower, breakdancing at the Place de la Concorde, equestrian sport at the Palace of Versailles—the city provided a stunning backdrop to this event.
It was the first time that an opening ceremony took place outside a stadium, adding to the headaches for a vast security operation just hours after a sabotage on the high-speed TGV rail network caused travel chaos across France.
“I invite everybody: dream with us. Like the Olympic athletes, be inspired with the joy that only sport can give us. Let us celebrate this Olympic spirit of living in peace,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said as the ceremony came to an end at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
Postcard-like depictions
More than 10,500 athletes will compete at the Olympics, exactly a century after Paris last staged the Games. Competition started on Wednesday and the first of the 329 gold medals will be awarded on Saturday.
As the show started four hours earlier, a giant plume of blue, white and red smoke resembling the French flag was sent high above a bridge over the Seine as part of a show that included many postcard-like depictions of France, including a huge cancan line performed by Moulin Rouge dancers on the banks.
A more modern image of the country was on display when French-Malian pop star Aya Nakamura, the most-listened to French female singer in the world, sang some of her biggest hits, accompanied by the French Republican Guard’s army choir.
Nakamura’s performance drew some of the ceremony’s biggest cheers.
But rumors of her inclusion had also sparked a row over French identity, with supporters saying she represented the vibrancy of modern-day France while her detractors said her music owes more to foreign influences.
While the celebration of French culture, fashion and history was warmly cheered by many of the 300,000 spectators lining the river, hundreds were seen leaving early as the rain fell.
“It was good other than the rain. It was nice, it was different, instead of being in a stadium—being on the river, so that’s always a good thing. Interesting, unique,” said Avid Pureval, 34, who came to the Games from Ohio.
Still, he was heading back to his hotel after the French boat passed, long before the ceremony ended.
“It would have been better with sun,” said Josephine, from Paris, sitting beside her 9-year-old daughter.
Israel delegation
French and international stars, including French Open champion Rafael Nadal, Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, soccer great Zinedine Zidane and three paralympic athletes, were among the last torchbearers before the cauldron was lit.
At the start of the parade, applause erupted for the Greek boat—the first delegation, by tradition—and there were even bigger cheers for the boat that followed, carrying the refugees’ team.
The French, US and Ukrainian delegations also got loud cheers.
The two most decorated athletes in the Games’ history, Michael Phelps and Martin Fourcade, unveiled the gold, silver and bronze medals.
The ceremony did not shy away from the world’s chaos. To the strains of John Lennon’s “Imagine,” the city was momentarily plunged into darkness in an invitation to reflect.
Yet the Israel delegation got some boos and also a lot of cheers as it sailed by.
Escorted by elite tactical units and given 24-hour protection due to the war in Gaza, Israeli competitors drew chants of “Palestine! Palestine!” from the crowd as their boat passed.
With many world leaders and VIPs present, the ceremony was protected by snipers on rooftops. The Seine’s riverbed was swept for bombs, and Paris airspace was closed.
Some 45,000 police and thousands of soldiers were deployed in a huge security operation, with police patrolling the river in inflatable boats as the armada made its passage along the Seine.
