French President Emmanuel Macron officially declared the Paris 2024 Olympics open on Friday, during a spectacular opening ceremony held under a rainy sky. Athletes from various nations paraded on approximately 85 boats along the Seine River, covering a distance of around 6 kilometers, while enthusiastic spectators cheered from both banks of the river. The event featured a performance by Lady Gaga, who sang a French cabaret song.
The highlight of the ceremony was the lighting of the Olympic cauldron. The torchbearer, wearing a mask, passed the torch to Zinedine Zidane, the legendary French football playmaker. Zidane then handed it over to Rafael Nadal, the Spanish tennis star who has won the French Open 16 times. The torch was then carried by past and present athletes, including American tennis great Serena Williams, French tennis champions Amelie Mauresmo and Marie-José Pérec, Romanian gymnastics legend Nadia Comăneci, American sprinting icon Carl Lewis, and French basketball star Tony Parker.
The torch was finally used to ignite the cauldron on a 30-meter-high “balloon in the sky,” featuring a 7-meter diameter ring, by French athletes Teddy Riner, a 10-time world judo champion and 3-time Olympic gold medalist, and Marie-José Pérec, a 3-time Olympic gold medalist in athletics.
The ceremony concluded with a performance by renowned singer Céline Dion, known for her song “My Heart Will Go On” from the movie “Titanic.” She performed “Hymn to Love” atop the Eiffel Tower, marking her first public appearance in several years after receiving treatment for an illness. The performance received a warm and supportive response from fans.
Over 10,500 athletes will compete for 329 gold medals at these Games, marking Paris’s first time hosting the Olympics in 100 years. This edition is also notable for being the first time the opening ceremony was held outside a stadium.
