The 2024 Paris Games officially opened under rainy skies Friday after a flotilla of athletes traveled along the Seine River in the first Olympic opening ceremony held outside a stadium.
French President Emmanuel Macron gave the opening declaration at the Trocadero, opposite the Eiffel Tower, before the Olympic cauldron was lit by a pair of French sporting greats, retired sprinter Marie-Jose Perec and judoka Teddy Riner, aiming for his third men's over-100-kilogram gold at the games.
The rain failed to dampen the mood as most of the 10,500 athletes competing at the games cruised the Seine on an assortment of vessels, large and small, watched by crowds cheering from stands erected on bridges and the banks of the river.
The head of the local organizing committee, three-time Olympic canoe slalom gold medalist Tony Estanguet, said the organizers had strived to "help the games grow stronger."
"When you're madly in love with the games, you feel like you can do anything," he said. "We have been bold, doing things that have never been done before, like having this opening ceremony in the city, for the first time in the history of the Olympic Games."
Directed by French actor and theatrical director Thomas Jolly, the ceremony was attended by roughly 300,000 spectators and watched by an estimated worldwide television audience of around 1 billion.
Under the title "Ca ira," the opening showcase featured 12 artistic tableaux spread along a roughly 6-kilometer stretch of the Seine including iconic landmarks such as Notre Dame Cathedral and the Eiffel Tower.
American pop star Lady Gaga and French heavy metal band Gojira were among artists who featured in a sequence of musical performances also encompassing classical piano, opera and hip-hop, with Canadian songstress Celine Dion providing the finale.
Sabre fencer Misaki Emura and breaker Shigeyuki "Shigekix" Nakarai were the flag bearers for a Japanese delegation comprising more than 400 athletes, the most the country has ever sent to an overseas Olympics.
The 25-year-old Emura is the two-time defending women's individual sabre world champion, while Nakarai, 22, is among the favorites to win men's gold when breaking, also known as breakdancing, makes its Olympic debut.
With the sun beginning to set, the Japanese athletes smiled and waved as they traveled on a large passenger barge also carrying delegations from Jordan and Kazakhstan.
Breakers, BMX riders and skateboarders performed on ramps and platforms along the river, presenting some of the urban sports for which competitions will be held at the picturesque La Concorde in central Paris.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach gave his "heartfelt thanks" to the "gracious French hosts" of the games.
"The Olympic flame will make Paris and all of France shine even brighter," he said.
The ceremony took place amid heightened tensions in the French capital following attacks on France's high-speed railway infrastructure from the previous night.
Arsonists burned pipes carrying data cables in remote locations far from the capital, causing travel delays and raising security concerns for the opening ceremony.
Some 45,000 police officers and gendarmes, including tactical response units, were reportedly on hand for security.
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