Paris dazzles with a rainy Olympics opening ceremony on the Seine River

John Leicester and Megan Janetsky, Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — A hot-air balloon brought an Olympic ringing of occurrence into a rainy entity and vocalist Celine Dion belted from nan Eiffel Tower arsenic Paris kicked disconnected its first Summer Olympics successful a period Friday, pinch a four-hour-long, rule-breaking opening ceremonial that unfurled on nan Seine River.

This photograph released by nan Olympic Broadcasting Services shows Canadian Singer Celine Dion performing connected nan Eiffel Tower during nan opening ceremonial for nan 2024 Summer Olympics successful Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. | Olympic Broadcasting Services via Associated Press

On-and-off showers did not look to hamper nan enthusiasm of nan athletes. Some held umbrellas arsenic they rode boats down nan stream successful a showcase of nan city’s resilience arsenic authorities investigated suspected acts of sabotage targeting France’s high-speed obstruction network.

With nan eager ceremony, nan stakes for France were immense. Dozens of heads of authorities and authorities were successful town, and nan world was watching arsenic Paris turned itself into a elephantine open-air theater. Along nan Seine, iconic monuments became stages for dancers, singers and different artists.

That included nan Louvre Museum, adjacent wherever French judo champ Teddy Riner and three-time Olympic champion runner Marie-Jose Perec lit nan Olympic cauldron, which was attached to a elephantine balloon that floated into nan nighttime — an homage to early French pioneers of parented flight.

The cauldron is lit by torch bearers Marie-Jose Perec and Teddy Riner successful Paris, France, during nan opening ceremonial of nan 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. | Dolores Ochoa, Associated Press

“We survived nan rain, but it didn’t spoil immoderate of our fun,” USA formation volleyball subordinate Kelly Cheng said. “This was 1 of nan astir magical nights of our lives.”

Despite nan weather, crowds crammed nan Seine’s banks and bridges and watched from balconies, “oohing” and “aahing” arsenic Olympic teams paraded successful boats down nan waterway that sewage progressively choppy.

Many of nan hundreds of thousands of spectators huddled nether umbrellas, integrative ponchos aliases jackets arsenic nan rains intensified, others danced and sang, and immoderate dashed from their seats for shelter.

“The rainfall can’t extremity us,” said U.S. hoops prima LeBron James, sporting a integrative poncho on pinch nan different American emblem bearer, tennis subordinate Coco Gauff.

United States’ Coco Gauff and Lebron James, bottommost center, recreation pinch teammates on nan Seine River successful Paris, France, during nan opening ceremonial of nan 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. | Kirsty Wigglesworth, Associated Press

The upwind made for immoderate bizarre scenes astatine nan show combining prerecorded and unrecorded performances: a stiff upper-lipped pianist played connected moreover arsenic mini puddles formed connected his expansive piano. A breakdancer flipped her moves connected nan sheen of a rain-drenched platform. Some athletes successful Bermuda-style colorful shirts looked dressed for nan beach, not a deluge.

Organizers said nan upwind forced them to scrap immoderate elements of nan show considered excessively vulnerable successful nan slippery conditions.

Still, arsenic world audiences tuned in, Paris put its champion ft guardant — rather literally, pinch a spectacular Olympic motorboat that lifted spirits and joyous French cancan dancers early on. A humorous short movie featured shot icon Zinedine Zidane. Plumes of French blue, achromatic and reddish fume followed.

Lady Gaga sang successful French successful a prerecorded bit, pinch dancers shaking pinkish plumed pompoms, injecting a cabaret feel. On nan Eiffel Tower, Dion closed nan show pinch her first unrecorded capacity since nan French-Canadian vocalist was diagnosed stiff personification syndrome, a uncommon neurological disorder, astatine nan extremity of 2022.

More than 3 hours into nan show, French President Emmanuel Macron declared nan Games open. In a gaffe earlier that, nan five-ring Olympic emblem was raised upside down astatine nan Trocadero crossed from nan Eiffel Tower.

In immoderate memorable moments, French-Malian popular prima Aya Nakamura, nan astir listened-to French-speaking creator successful nan world, emerged from a pyrotechnic show successful an all-gold retired to singing her deed “Djadja” accompanied by a Republican defender set of nan French army.

The ceremonial celebrated women, including 10 aureate statues of female pioneers that roseate from elephantine pedestals on nan river. Among them was Olympe de Gouges, who drafted nan Declaration of nan Rights of Women and nan Female Citizen successful 1791 during nan French Revolution. She campaigned for nan abolition of slavery and was guillotined successful 1793.

The Paris Games purpose to beryllium nan first pinch adjacent numbers of men and women competing.

The sprawling arena gave organizers bigger crowds to transport, shape and safeguard than erstwhile Olympic ceremonies successful stadiums.

Thousands of athletes connected 85 boats started nan 6-kilometer (nearly 4-mile) parade connected nan Seine by breaking done curtains of h2o cascading down from Austerlitz Bridge. The jetting waters were a wink astatine nan fountains of Versailles Palace, nan venue for Olympic equestrian competitions.

Per Olympic protocol, nan first vessel carried athletes from Greece, birthplace of nan ancient Games. It was followed by nan Olympic squad of exile athletes and then, nan different nations successful French alphabetical order.

Some spectators who followed organizers’ proposal to get good up of clip on nan ceremonial way fumed complete agelong waits to get to their seats.

“Paris has been great, thing to do pinch nan Olympics and dissemination of accusation has been horrible,” said Tony Gawne, a 54-year-old Texan who turned up six hours successful beforehand pinch his wife.

“When you walk $6,000 connected 2 tickets, well, that’s a small frustrating,” he said.

But Paris had plentifulness of aces up its sleeve. The Eiffel Tower, its caput visible beneath nan clouds, Notre Dame Cathedral — restored from nan ashes of its 2019 occurrence — nan Louvre Museum and different iconic monuments starred successful nan ceremony. Award-winning theatre head Thomas Jolly, nan show’s imaginative mind, utilized nan signature Paris cityscape of zinc-gray rooftops arsenic nan playground for his imagination.

Spectators watch nan opening ceremonial of nan 2024 Summer Olympics successful Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. | Thibault Camus, Associated Press

His task: Tell nan communicative of France, its people, their history and principle successful a measurement that leaves an indelible imprint connected Olympic audiences. Refresh nan image and self-confidence of nan French superior that was many times struck by deadly extremist attacks successful 2015. Capture really Paris is besides aiming to reboot nan Olympics, pinch Summer Games it has worked to make much appealing and sustainable.

It was a large ask. So Paris went big, very big. That goes for nan security, too. Large fenced-off stretches of cardinal Paris were locked down to those without passes and nan skies during nan ceremonial were a no-fly area for 150 kilometers (93 miles) around.

During nan athletes’ waterborne adventure, they passed historical landmarks that person been temporarily transformed into arenas for Olympic sports.

Concorde Plaza, wherever French revolutionaries guillotined King Louis XVI and different royals, now hosting skateboarding and different sports. The golden-domed resting spot of Napoléon Bonaparte, nan backdrop for Olympic archery, and nan Eiffel Tower, which donated chunks of robust that person been inlaid successful nan gold, metallic and bronze Olympic medals. They’ll beryllium won successful nan 32 sports’ 329 badge events.

Paris’ aim, said main Paris Games organizer Tony Estanguet, was “to show to nan full world and to each of nan French that successful this country, we’re tin of exceptional things.”

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AP journalists Jerome Pugmire, Hanna Arhirova, Tales Azzoni, Jocelyn Noveck, Debora Rey and Kristie Rieken and contributed from Paris. ___

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Flashes of lights illuminate nan Eiffel Tower successful Paris, France, during nan opening ceremonial of nan 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. | Robert F. Bukaty, Associated Press