Rain Gods could not restrict themselves in the heaven as the magnificent City of Light dotted with the spectacular Eiffel Tower and scores of majestic buildings featuring admirable architecture welcomed the 33rd Olympic Games in a unique way, with the much-awaited opening ceremony on river Seine involving a stretch of the city’s rich heritage, here on Friday.
The riot of colours and lights turned the Seine and the pastel city into a surreal place, amalgamating history and contemporariness in a spellbinding show conceptualised by Thierry Reboul and directed by Thomas Jolly, to celebrate the return of the Olympics to the city after a century.
Contrast this to the eighth edition of the Games which were held inside the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium in 1924.
The Eiffel Tower was as young as only 35 years and the Roland Garros, the home of French Open for close to a century now, was only 33 and was still a year away from hosting its first major. Paris’ Olympic reincarnation exactly after a century tells a story of the world’s evolution as well.
The Eiffel Tower is lit up with the Olympic rings during the opening ceremony of the Games in Paris. | Photo Credit: REUTERS
The Games offered not only Paris but also France – the land of great philosophers and writers such as Voltaire, Montesquieu, Denis Diderot, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Guy de Maupassant – project its new and future looking avatar, advocating pluralism.
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The novel parade over six kilometres on Seine took off from Austerlitz bridge beside the Jardin des Plantes in the evening before passing under several bridges and gateways.
It provided the athletes a nice view of some of the Games venues, such as Parc Urbain La Concorde, the Esplanade des Invalides, the Grand Palais and the Iéna bridge, where the parade ended before the finale took place at the Trocadéro.
Greece, the first host of the Games, led the flotilla of 85 boats carrying 6800 athletes with water fountains adding to the beauty of the setting.
Team Greece attends the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. | Photo Credit: AP
A Refugee Olympic Team followed, underlining the times we live in as 205 delegates from different countries and hundreds of thousands of people, including several who watched it free, witnessed the amazing show offering visual and auditory treat on the banks of Seine.
Parisians ignored the drama-filled morning which seemed troublesome with disruptions of train services due to arson and a bomb threat to greet the athletes from the balconies of their homes.
With helicopters keeping a watch overhead, 12 cultural tableaux, a cabaret show by Lady Gaga and stunning musical performances by leading French artists, including Aya Nakamura, broke the monotony of the parade.
The appearance of football star Zinedine Zidane was a moment of delight too.
Zinedine Zidane carries the torch in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics. | Photo Credit: AP
Seventy-one giant screens, beaming the live action from 170 cameras, and strategically placed speakers allowed everyone to enjoy the magical atmosphere of this show reverberating throughout Paris.
Dressed in their tricolour-themed ceremonial attire, the designer kurta bundi sets for men and sarees for women, the Indians stood out.
Altogether 78 athletes and officials from 12 disciplines took part in the athletes’ parade, led by double Olympic medallist shuttler P.V. Sindhu and five-time Olympian Sharath Kamal.
Dressed in their tricolour-themed ceremonial attire, the designer kurta bundi sets for men and sarees for women, the Indians stood out. | Photo Credit: Reuters
The Indian athletes who took part in the grand event included some prominent names such as four-time Olympian archers Deepika Kumari and Tarundeep Rai, Tokyo Games bronze medallist boxer Lovlina Borgohain, shooters Anjum Moudgil, Sift Kaur Samra, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Anish Bhanwala, paddler Manika Batra and tennis player Rohan Bopanna.
At twilight, the bridges on the Seine lit up and set the stage for the Olympic flame to take its pride of place to signal the beginning of the Games.
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