Lady Gaga sang a French cabaret song near Notre-Dame cathedral, a giant plume of blue, white and red smoke was sent high above a bridge over the Seine and a winged man played accordion as the Olympics’ opening ceremony got under way in Paris on Friday.
A fleet of barges started taking athletes on a 6 km-stretch of the river, by some of the French capital’s most famous landmarks, as Lady Gaga, surrounded by dancers, sang “Mon truc en plumes” (My thing made of feathers).
Huge applause rang out for the Greek boat – the first one, by tradition – and even bigger cheers erupted for the boat that followed, carrying a team made of refugees.
Water fountains threw up jets of water in the middle of the Seine as the boats went by, with athletes waving at the crowds, amid a huge visible police presence.
The Olympics’ opening ceremony began in Paris on Friday by depicting a fictional scenario in which the arrival of the Olympic flame goes awry, ahead of an extravagant show on the river Seine that will kick off the summer Games.
French soccer superstar Zinedine Zidane was shown running across Paris to bring the flame, in a pre-recorded video that included him taking it onto the metro.
Crowds gathered in the rain along the River Seine in Paris on Firday to watch an extravagant opening ceremony that will kick off the Olympics, hours after a sabotage attack on the high-speed TGV rail network caused travel chaos across France.
“I’m really impatient,” said nine-year old Manon, who was preparing to watch with her mother. “It’s a great chance to be able to be there.”
Some 45,000 police and thousands of soldiers have been deployed in a huge security operation in Paris for the opening show, leaving security resources elsewhere stretched.
The parade will feature a fleet of barges which will take nearly 7,000 athletes along the River Seine past Paris’ most famous landmarks while more than 300,000 spectators will watch from the banks.
However, weather forecasters are predicting heavy showers during the show, with one meteorologist even calling it a “disaster” for the open-air ceremony.
“The rain won’t stop me from cheering on the Olympics – sport is everything to me and I’d do whatever it takes to watch this,” said Flavia Merluzzi, 20, an architecture student.
Details have been kept secret, including on some of the artists taking part, who will be the last to carry the torch and light the Olympic cauldron to mark the start of the Games.
But in a hint of what may come at the ceremony, a Reuters reporter saw pop superstar Lady Gaga rehearsing on Friday at the heart of Paris, singing “Mon truc en plumes” (My thing made of feathers), a classic 20th-century French cabaret song.
Amid rumors that Canadian singer Celine Dion could also be part of the show, spectator Chantal Beauvais said it would be “magical” to watch her.
It will be the first time that an opening ceremony has taken place outside a stadium.
“We’re going to take advantage of all the historic monuments around the Seine, and there won’t be a single riverbank or bridge that won’t be filled with music, dance, or performance,” the ceremony’s choreographer Maud Le Pladec has said.
Geopolitical tensions
Since the last Games – the Winter Olympics held in Beijing in 2022 – wars have erupted in Ukraine and Gaza, providing a tense international backdrop. France is at its highest level of security, though officials have repeatedly said there is no specific threat to the opening ceremony or the Games.
Israeli competitors are being escorted by elite tactical units to and from events and given 24-hour protection throughout the Olympics due to the war in Gaza, officials say.
Scores of world leaders are in Paris for the opening ceremony, which will be protected by snipers on rooftops. The Seine’s riverbed has been swept for bombs, and Paris’ airspace is closed.
For the Games more generally, radar-surveillance planes and Reaper drones will monitor sensitive sites from above, and Mirage 2000 fighter jets will be on standby to intercept aircraft straying into restricted airspace.
Everything ready
“Everything is ready,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in a video posted on X. “Even the (Olympics) rings are there,” he said, overlooking the Eiffel tower. “Enjoy the Games!”
Macron, who won a second mandate two years ago, had hoped the Olympics would cement his legacy. But his failed bet on a snap legislative election has weakened him and cast a shadow over his moment on the international stage.
High security has also prompted much grumbling among Parisians after police imposed a security zone along the river ahead of the opening ceremony, erecting metal barriers to fence off neighborhoods and requiring authorisation – passes with QR codes – to enter.
But some shrugged away the skepticism.
“It’s very Parisian to complain a bit,” said Emilie Zhou, a 34-year-old Parisian, referring to the restrictions around the Seine.
Zhou will watch the ceremony from the banks with her husband and two friends, having got four of the free tickets allocated to residents of the Paris region.
More than 10,500 athletes will compete at the Olympics, 100 years since Paris last staged the Games. Competition started on Wednesday and the first of the 329 gold medals will be awarded on Saturday. The closing ceremony will take place on Aug. 11.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine means Moscow’s usually huge delegation of athletes has been reduced to 15 who met and accepted eligibility requirements to compete as neutrals, according to a list published by the International Olympic Committee on July 20.
Belarus will send 17 athletes competing as neutrals.
Ukraine is sending 140 athletes – its smallest contingent since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
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