The 2024 Olympics kicked off in Paris with an extraordinary opening ceremony, transforming the River Seine into a dynamic stage. Thousands of athletes sailed past vibrant performers stationed on bridges, banks, and rooftops, creating an ambitious and unique spectacle.
For the first time, a waterway was used instead of a stadium to inaugurate the “greatest show on Earth.” The nearly four-hour event concluded with French judo legend Teddy Riner and sprinter Marie-Jose Perec lighting a cauldron designed to resemble a hot air balloon, which then soared into the Parisian sky.
Blue, white, and red fireworks highlighted the Tricolore above Austerlitz Bridge as 6,800 athletes from 205 delegations traversed the river on 85 boats and barges, passing iconic landmarks of the French capital.
The ceremony featured surprise performances, including a cabaret act by US singer-songwriter Lady Gaga and an emotional comeback by Canadian icon Celine Dion.
However, the day began with significant disruptions: arson attacks on the French train network and heavy evening rain forced artistic director Thomas Jolly to alter his original plan of using sunlight to “make the water sparkle.”
Despite the rain necessitating ponchos and umbrellas for the athletes, the event’s energy remained undiminished. A lively narrative of French history, art, and sports was conveyed by around 2,000 musicians, dancers, and artists.
The US and French delegations, the last two boats to parade, carried the largest contingents of athletes. Other boats hosted several delegations together, emphasizing unity.
Great Britain’s flagbearers, rower Helen Glover and diver Tom Daley, led their team in Paris, which is hosting the Summer Games for the third time and the first time in 100 years.
Addressing the challenging international and domestic political climate, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach declared the 33rd Summer Olympics open, telling athletes they were part of an event that “unites the world in peace.”
More than 10,500 athletes will compete in 32 sports, with the Games concluding on August 11.
Organizers’ decision to hold the opening ceremony on the Seine, rather than in a stadium, initially raised eyebrows due to the immense security and logistical challenges. Concerns about the river’s cleanliness and the transportation of thousands of athletes without a dress rehearsal added to the skepticism.
Yet, Paris executed its ambitious plan flawlessly, supported by a massive security operation involving tens of thousands of police officers.
The ceremony was a mix of the surreal and the spectacular. One moment saw Lady Gaga performing in French, surrounded by pink and black feathers, while the next introduced Bangladesh’s athletes on their boat.
The atmosphere was often frenetic, occasionally emotional, and always engaging. The rain seemed almost fitting, considering the storyline of the Olympic flame’s arrival in Paris not going as planned. The torchbearer, unaware of the change in location, found himself with a delayed metro train, humorously represented by French football legend Zinedine Zidane.
The event featured a blend of ballet, cancan, opera, famous artworks brought to life, and even Minions. A masked torchbearer periodically appeared, running across rooftops and zip-lining as the flotilla journeyed from Austerlitz Bridge to Pont d’Iena.
The boats, with flag-waving athletes, passed landmarks such as the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Grand Palais, and Arc de Triomphe, interspersed with 12 artistic segments. One segment honored the reconstruction of Notre Dame after the 2019 fire, with dancers and music derived from sounds recorded during the cathedral’s restoration.
French history was celebrated with performances from Les Miserables and a choir of headless Marie Antoinettes alongside the French heavy metal band Gojira. French-Malian R&B star Aya Nakamura, the world’s most-streamed French-language artist, also performed.
The ceremony concluded at the Trocadero, with the Eiffel Tower illuminated. The torch, after a dramatic journey with a masked torchbearer and a mechanical horse, was handed back to Zidane. He passed it to Rafael Nadal, Nadia Comaneci, Serena Williams, and Carl Lewis, who carried it towards the Louvre. There, a series of French athletes, including 100-year-old gold-medal cyclist Charles Coste, relayed the torch to Riner and Perec.
The lighting of the 30-meter high hot air balloon cauldron, now seemingly floating above the city, was a spectacular finale. But there was one more enchanting moment as Dion delivered a powerful rendition of Edith Piaf’s “L’Hymne a l’amour” at the Eiffel Tower, her first performance since revealing a serious neurological condition in December 2022.
Bach’s speech at the opening ceremony addressed the current global conflicts, emphasizing the solidarity embodied by the Olympics. He noted that despite wars in Ukraine and Gaza, the Games brought together athletes from 206 National Olympic Committees and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team.
During the ceremony, Paris momentarily went dark as the opening notes of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “Imagine” were sung by Juliette Armanet on a drifting raft. This peace anthem, a staple of Olympic ceremonies, underscores the unity and tolerance the Games aim to promote.
The impact of ongoing conflicts was evident, with Russian and Belarusian athletes competing as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) due to their nations’ ban following the invasion of Ukraine. The Refugee Olympic Team and the Palestine Olympic Committee received some of the loudest cheers of the evening.
More than 100 heads of state and government attended the ceremony, including UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Looking ahead to Saturday, 14 gold medals are up for grabs, with the first likely to come from the shooting’s mixed team air rifle event. BBC coverage of day one starts at 06:30 BST.
Great Britain’s medal hopes include divers Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen in the women’s 3m synchro at 10:00 BST, and road cycling time trials at 13:30 BST for women and 15:34 BST for men.
Other highlights include swimmer Adam Peaty in the 100m breaststroke heats, Max Whitlock and the GB men’s gymnasts in qualification, and the men’s rugby sevens final at 18:45 BST, where French fans hope Antoine Dupont will lead the hosts to gold.
The pool will host four swimming finals on the opening day, with the women’s 400m freestyle at 19:55 BST featuring a highly anticipated race between US legend Katie Ledecky, Australian defending champion Ariarne Titmus, and Canadian world record holder Summer McIntosh.
Equestrian events begin at Versailles, with Great Britain defending their team crown. The team faces challenges following Charlotte Dujardin’s withdrawal from the Games due to a provisional suspension after footage showed her excessively whipping a horse.
Tennis at Roland Garros will see Novak Djokovic in action, along with the men’s doubles pairing of Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal. Great Britain’s men also start their hockey campaign against Spain.