PARIS, CMC – Hundreds of spectators braved adverse weather on Friday and descended on the capital of France for the opening of the 2024 Olympic Games.
Close to 7,000 participants, including many from the several English-speaking Caribbean delegations attending the Games, sailed down the River Seine in an unprecedented and ambitious parade that occurred outside of the Olympic athletics stadium for the first time.
The procession of national teams down the river and past several historic monuments in the French capital celebrated the country’s history and culture. The Games began with performances from entertainers, including Lady Gaga and Aya Nakamura.
Organizers said more than 300,000 people watched the spectacle in person from bleachers on the banks of the river and another 200,000 from balconies and apartments overlooking the waterway, a high-risk departure from past opening ceremonies.
The participants sailed down the river in 85 boats instead of making the traditional walk around the running track at the Olympic athletics stadium.
The boats carrying the Olympic teams started the parade by breaking through curtains of water that cascaded down from Austerlitz Bridge, the start of the six-kilometer route.
The only part of the Olympic tradition that remained was the first boat carried athletes from Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games.
The Olympic team of refugee athletes followed them and the other participating nations alphabetically in French.
Scores of dancers in pink skirts provided a stunning splash of color on the banks of the Seine in another memorable moment from the opening ceremony.
Embattled French president Emmanuel Macron declared the Games open about three hours into the glitzy show, which practically came off without a hitch, except when the five-ring Olympic flag was raised upside down at the Trocadero across from the Eiffel Tower.
Retired women’s tennis icon Serena Williams of the United States and multi-time winner of the French Open tennis championship Rafael Nadal of Spain, participated in the final torch relay, which ended with three-time Olympic sprint champion Marie-Jose Perec lighting the Olympic cauldron.
Though competition has started at the Games already, it gets into full swing on Saturday with sports such as badminton, volleyball, field hockey, judo, shooting, basketball, swimming, and tennis on the menu.
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