The risk paid off: the spectacle of the opening of the 33rd Summer Olympic Games in Paris, despite the rain, in front of around 300.000 spectators on the streets, overshadowed all the openings of all major sports competitions ever. France has pulled out its grandiose culture from its sleeves and combined history with the modern age
Not all of them 45.000 police officers who secured yesterday's opening ceremony of the 33rd Summer Olympic Games in Paris, could not save neither the participants, nor the guests, nor about 300.000 onlookers on the streets from the rain. Reuters published a weather forecast for Paris on Friday, predicting heavy downpours just in time for the ceremony, with meteorologists calling the weather a "catastrophe".
French President Emmanuel Macron admitted earlier this year that there are plans B and C in case insurmountable obstacles arise before the planned opening.
A spectacle is promised.
This year's opening ceremony of the Olympic Games promises to be a spectacle par excellence, the BBC wrote earlier. It came true, the spectacle that Paris put on overshadowed all previous openings of all major sporting events ever.
For the first time in modern history, the Olympic Games were not opened in a stadium, but the stage was in the center of the city. The national teams, more than 10.000 athletes, paraded on boats down the river Seine, along a route of about six kilometers.
In a live television broadcast, the boat sailed past the biggest Parisian landmarks, including the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Eiffel Tower and finally the Trocadero.
Twilight for the City of Light
The river parade ended at dusk in front of the Eiffel Tower, a sight that should conjure the image of the city known as the "City of Light" to the whole world.
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The president of the Olympic Games, Tony Estrange, promised that the timing would make the show "more sublime, with a real poetic dimension", according to the BBC.
The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games was graced by about 3000 performers, including musicians and about 400 dancers who performed their points on the bridges over the Seine.
The idea of a ceremony
The idea for an outdoor ceremony came from Buenos Aires, where Games Director Tony Estange saw the opening of the 2018 Youth Olympic Games on the streets of the Argentine city. To design and organize something like that in Paris, he tasked Thierry Reboul, the former head of marketing at Air France. Sena came to Rebul's mind in 2019 when he was walking by the river.
Although the police and their unions were against such an organization, Macron immediately embraced the idea and pressured skeptical police and security officials to allow the organization.
"I don't want to know what you think about it, I want to know how we can do it," a source close to the French president quoted Macron as saying, as reported by Reuters.
Macron announced the idea to the world in 2021, making everything a fait accompli.
Olympic flame over Paris
The highlight was when French judoka Teddy Riner and legendary French athlete Marie-José Perec lit the Olympic flame attached to a giant balloon which then floated off into the Parisian night.
And the ceremony, which lasted almost four hours, began with the showing of a video in which the famous world and French football star Zinedine Zidane took part, carrying the Olympic torch. As time went on, and the ceremony "heated up", so did the rain.
The torch was carried through Paris, among others, by tennis star Rafael Nadal, famous former Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci., American legendary sprinter Carl Lewis, former French NBA star Tony Parker, the Voice of America reported (VOA).
The grand opening came hours after sabotage on the high-speed TGV rail network caused travel chaos across France and put the spotlight on security risks at a time when the eyes of the world are on Paris.
From Lady Gaga to Celine Dion
The music superstar Lady Gaga performed a song by Edith Piaf at the opening, and the end of the ceremony was marked by the touching performance of the Canadian diva Celine Dion on the Eiffel Tower, who stopped performing in public two years ago after being diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease.
A more modern image of France was presented by Aya Nakamura, a French singer originally from Mali, who sang some of her biggest hits and a song by Charles Aznavour, accompanied by the French Army Choir. Her performance was met with a standing ovation by the audience, VOA writes.
"I invite everyone: dream with us." As Olympic athletes, be inspired by the joy that only sport can give us. Let's celebrate the Olympic spirit of living in peace," said the president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, speaking at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
Dancers and flame bearers took to the roofs of Paris in the rain.
"The rain will not stop me from cheering at the Olympics - sport is everything to me and I would do whatever it takes to watch this," Flavia Merluzzi, 20, an architecture student, told Reuters.
Many details were kept secret
The ceremony included many pre-recorded moments, including the rhythmic sounds of stone chisels and wood saws and scenes of the restoration of Notre Dame after the 2019 fire.
Many details have been kept under wraps, including who will be the last to carry the torch and light the Olympic flame to mark the start of the games.
Two of the most decorated athletes in the history of the Olympic Games, Michael Phelps and Martin Fourcade, revealed the gold, silver and bronze medals.
Source: N1 / Voice of America
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