The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games began Friday evening on the Seine, a historic nautical parade preceded by tense hours of rain and sabotage of the French railway network.
This is the first time that a Games opening ceremony has taken place outside an Olympic stadium. An extraordinary gamble, logistically, artistically and in terms of security, for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and for France, which has been waiting a century to organize the Summer Games.
This challenge will have to be met with a guest who is not welcome: rain is expected to arrive during the ceremony, intensifying in the second part of the evening, when night falls on the river procession. Météo-France is counting on “the equivalent of eight to ten days of rain for the month of July”.
Before the live show, a film was shown showing comedian Djamel Debbouze entering the Stade de France with a torch in his hand before passing it to a French icon, Zinedine Zidane. To the sound of music from a Jacques Tati film, the former number 10 of the Blues then embarks on a Parisian odyssey, including the metro.
Magical travel
The Pont du Carrousel in Paris on July 26, 2024 / Bertrand GUAY / AFP
From the Pont d’Austerlitz to the Trocadéro, 6,800 athletes and 205 delegations, embarked on 85 boats, must now descend the river during an unprecedented parade, during a ceremony lasting nearly four hours, a prelude to two weeks of competitions until August 11.
Greece, the country of ancient Olympism, will open the parade which will be closed, as is traditional, by the delegation of the host country, in front of 320,000 spectators on the quays and bridges of Paris.
Between the two, on their countries’ boats, Americans Sha’carri Richardson and Simone Biles, Serbian Novak Djokovic and Frenchman Léon Marchand will be able to enjoy a six-kilometer tracking shot, at the foot of the most emblematic monuments of the City of Lights: Notre-Dame and its spire restored after the 2019 fire, the Louvre, the Tuileries, the Concorde, the Grand Palais and then the Eiffel Tower. Sites that will also host events starting Saturday, judo, beach volleyball, archery…
The director, Thomas Jolly, who has been working on the subject for 18 months, had to pull off a feat: to include in this odyssey all the Olympic rituals, right down to the lighting of the cauldron, including the proclamation of the opening of the Games by Emmanuel Macron shortly after 10:30 p.m.
Called “Ça ira”, the show will offer twelve tableaux, animated by around 2,000 artists – actors, dancers, jugglers, musicians – who will celebrate the history of France, its culture, but also universalism and diversity.
The authors and organizers have promised “the greatest show of the 21st century”a story ” very generous “with “joy, emulation, movement, excitement”.
Lady Gaga as an American star?
The Pont d’Austerlitz in Paris on July 26, 2024 / Damien MEYER / AFP
Among the stars who will take part in this show are the Franco-Malian Aya Nakamura, the most listened to French-speaking singer in the world, the American Lady Gaga and the Canadian Céline Dion.
For several days, the hypercentre of Paris has been closed off, accessible only to those with their sesame, accreditation or QR Code. Spectators were admitted from 3:30 p.m., with an umbrella if they wished, provided that it was retractable or foldable for security reasons.
The long queues as the ceremony began sometimes caused irritation. But Armelle Lanci, 54, a school principal who arrived early and had slipped a parka into her bag, was happy to be there: “There is a very good atmosphere, you hear all the languages being spoken, it’s very good”she said, arriving early and slipping a windbreaker into her bag.
A tourist couple from Mexico City got two front row seats on the Carousel Bridge. “We are privileged”says Selene Martinez, 42, alongside her partner Israel Tejada.
Around a hundred dignitaries, including 85 heads of state and government, welcomed in the afternoon at the Élysée, are present, some of whom will have to face the elements due to the lack of coverage of the entire official tribune.
Never before have so many police forces been mobilized, with 45,000 police officers and gendarmes deployed, and 10,000 soldiers.
“Massive attack”
In the audience 100,000 spectators paid for their tickets, for prices ranging up to 2,700 euros; about 220,000 were invited and will take their places on the high quays of the river. Provided they have not given up, discouraged by the weather forecast or the railway chaos.
The previous night, network infrastructure was in fact the target of damage in several regions, including arson attacks.
“A massive attack to paralyze the network”according to the SNCF which, despite gradual improvements, predicts disruptions “at least all weekend”Among the 800,000 travellers affected, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had to change his plans and flew to Paris.
This attack, whose perpetrators and sponsors are not known at this time, “will not impact the ceremony”promised the socialist mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo.
