Thousands flock to Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

The long-anticipated opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics launched Friday with an athletes’ parade unlike any seen before, as competitors rode aboard dozens of vessels in a flotilla along the river Seine.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators lined the banks of the waterway amid a steady rain to cheer on the athletes as they passed on specially equipped boats en route to the Trocadero in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.

There, they were to disembark for the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron, signalling the official start to the games.

The ceremony began at 7:30 p.m. local time despite nationwide travel chaos caused by a series of coordinated arson attacks on the French high-speed TGV rail system carried out by unknown saboteurs.

The National Olympic Committee of France touted its opening ceremony as plans as “bold, original and unique,” certain to “join the most memorable moments in Olympic history.”

First and foremost, the planners chose to hold the ceremony not in a stadium but rather in Paris itself, specifically along the city’s “main artery,” the Seine.

Under the concept, the traditional parade of athletes was transformed into a waterborne procession of boats, one for each of the larger national delegations. Each of the nearly 100 boats were equipped with cameras to allow for up-close viewing,

The idea was to allow more than 300 000 spectators the chance to see the athletes’ parade in person, something never before accomplished at an Olympics. Eighty giant video screens were set up throughout the city to allow those who couldn’t make it in person to view the ceremony.

Beginning at the Austerlitz Bridge next to the Jardin des Plantes, more than 10 000 athletes were positioned on the flotilla moving from east to west for nearly four miles along the Seine.

Along the way, it passed by two islands – the Île Saint Louis and the Île de la Cité – and under several bridges, each hosting dozens of dancers performing pieces by choreographer Maud Le Pladec and wearing costumes designed by Daphne Burki.

The dancers’ participation remained in doubt as the Opening Ceremony approached. The union representing the artists, SFA-CGT, went on strike against Paname24, the executive producer of the ceremonies, on July 17 citing what it called “glaring inadequacies” in the treatment of performers.

On Wednesday, however, the union ended its action after receiving a final offer from the organisers in what its leaders called “a victory, though not a total one.”

The athletes’ parade route ended at the Iena Bridge, opposite the Trocadero, the monumental plaza in the heart of Paris that features iconic museums, sculptures, gardens and fountains, as well as sweeping views of the Eiffel Tower. (UPI)

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