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07/26/24 04:06:00
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07/26 16:03 CDT Paris Olympics kicks off with ambitious but rainy opening
ceremony on the Seine River
Paris Olympics kicks off with ambitious but rainy opening ceremony on the Seine
River
By JOHN LEICESTER and MEGAN JANETSKY
Associated Press
PARIS (AP) --- Celebrating its reputation as a cradle of revolution, Paris
kicked off its first Summer Olympics in a century on Friday with a rain-soaked,
rule-breaking opening ceremony studded with stars and fantasy along the Seine
River.
On-and-off showers --- the first rain at a Summer Olympics' opening ceremony in
more than 70 years --- did not seem to hamper the enthusiasm of the athletes.
Some held umbrellas as they rode boats down the river in a showcase of the
city's resilience as authorities investigated suspected acts of sabotage
targeting France's high-speed rail network.
Widespread travel disruptions triggered by what French officials called
coordinated arson attacks on high-speed rail lines as well as the weather had
dampened the mood ahead of the ceremony.
Still, crowds crammed the Seine's banks and bridges and watched from balconies,
"oohing" and "aahing" as Olympic teams paraded in boats down the waterway that
got increasingly choppy as the weather worsened.
Undeterred from the festivities, many of the hundreds of thousands of
spectators huddled under umbrellas, plastic ponchos or jackets as the rain
intensified, others danced and sang, and some dashed from their seats for
shelter.
"The rain can't stop us," said U.S. basketball star LeBron James, sporting a
plastic poncho along with the other American flag bearer, tennis player Coco
Gauff.
The weather made for some bizarre scenes at the show combining prerecorded and
live performances: a stiff upper-lipped pianist played on even as small puddles
formed on his grand piano. A breakdancer flipped her moves on the sheen of a
rain-drenched platform. Some athletes in Bermuda-style colorful shirts looked
dressed for the beach, not a deluge.
As global audiences tuned in, Paris put its best foot forward --- quite
literally, with a spectacular Olympic launch that lifted spirits and joyous
French cancan dancers featured early on. A humorous short film featured soccer
icon Zinedine Zidane. Plumes of French blue, white and red smoke followed. And
Lady Gaga sang, in French, with dancers shaking pink plumed pompoms, adding a
cabaret feel.
French-Malian pop star Aya Nakamura, the most listened-to French-speaking
artist in the world, emerged from a pyrotechnic display in an all-gold out to
sing her hit "Djadja" accompanied by a Republican guard band of the French army.
More than three hours into the show, French President Emmanuel Macron declared
the Games open. In a gaffe shortly beforehand, the five-ring Olympic flag was
raised upside down at the Trocadero across from the Eiffel Tower.
The ceremony celebrated women, including 10 golden statues of female pioneers
that rose from giant pedestals along the river. Among them was Olympe de
Gouges, who drafted the Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Female
Citizen in 1791 during the French Revolution. She campaigned for the abolition
of slavery and was guillotined in 1793.
The Paris Games aim to be the first with equal numbers of men and women
competing.
With the ambitious ceremony, the stakes for France were immense. Dozens of
heads of state and government were in town, and the world was watching as Paris
turned itself into a giant open-air theater. Along the Seine, iconic monuments
became stages for dancers, singers and other artists.
Sofia Cohen, 20, watching with her father, called the ceremony "electric." The
Nicaraguan-Americans said the roar of applause given to the Ukrainian team was
their favorite part.
"Every Olympics is different, and this one was very French. The ceremony
started out very majestic and regal. And as the rain started pouring down and
time went on, everything got a little more hectic and fun," she said.
The sprawling event gave organizers bigger crowds to transport, organize and
safeguard than would have been the case if they'd followed the example of
previous Olympic host cities that opened with stadium shows.
Still, as the show got underway, optimism soared that Paris --- true to its
motto that speaks of being unsinkable --- might just see its gambles pay off.
That's despite the soggy weather --- no other Summer Olympics opening ceremony
has had rain since Helsinki in 1952.
Paris organizers said 6,800 of the 10,500 athletes would attend before they
embark on the next 16 days of competition.
The boats carrying the Olympic teams started the parade by breaking through
curtains of water that cascaded down from Austerlitz Bridge, the start of the
6-kilometer (nearly 4-mile) route. The jetting waters were a wink at the
fountains of Versailles Palace, the venue for Olympic equestrian competitions.
Per Olympic protocol, the first boat carried athletes from Greece, birthplace
of the ancient Games. It was followed by the Olympic team of refugee athletes
and then, the other nations in French alphabetical order.
Usually during Olympic opening ceremonies, the parade of athletes takes place
during a pause in the razzmatazz. But Paris shattered that tradition by having
the parade and pageantry at the same time, blending sports and artistic
expression.
Some spectators who followed organizers' advice to arrive well ahead of time
along the ceremony route fumed over long waits to get to their seats.
"Paris has been great, anything to do with the Olympics and dissemination of
information has been horrible," said Tony Gawne, a 54-year-old Texan who turned
up six hours in advance with his wife.
"When you spend $6,000 on two tickets, well, that's a little frustrating," he
said.
But Paris had plenty of aces up its sleeve. The Eiffel Tower, its head visible
below the clouds, Notre Dame Cathedral --- restored from the ashes of its 2019
fire --- the Louvre Museum and other iconic monuments starred in the opening
ceremony. Award-winning theater director Thomas Jolly, the show's creative
mind, was using the signature Paris cityscape of zinc-gray rooftops as the
playground for his imagination.
His task: Tell the story of France, its people, their history and essence in a
way that leaves an indelible imprint on Olympic audiences. Refresh the image
and self-confidence of the French capital that was repeatedly struck by deadly
extremist attacks in 2015. Capture how Paris is also aiming to reboot the
Olympics, with Summer Games it has worked to make more appealing and
sustainable.
It's a big ask. So Paris went big, very big. That goes for the security, too.
Large fenced-off stretches of central Paris were locked down to those without
passes and the skies during the ceremony were a no-fly zone for 150 kilometers
(93 miles) around.
Many details of the spectacle that stretched into the Paris night were closely
guarded secrets to preserve the wow factor, including who would light the
Olympic cauldron.
During the athletes' waterborne adventure, they passed historic landmarks that
have been temporarily transformed into arenas for Olympic sports.
Concorde Plaza, where French revolutionaries guillotined King Louis XVI and
other royals, now hosting skateboarding and other sports. The golden-domed
resting place of Napolon Bonaparte, the backdrop for Olympic archery, and the
Eiffel Tower, which donated chunks of iron that have been inlaid in the gold,
silver and bronze Olympic medals. They'll be won in the 32 sports' 329 medal
events.
Paris' aim, said Estanguet, is "to show to the whole world and to all of the
French that in this country, we're capable 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.
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