Paris 2024 always knew its idea for the opening ceremony was “crazy” but a relentless downpour on Friday evening ensured a damp start to the Olympics with many bewildered by its format.
Spectators scattered along the Seine, rather than packed into the Stade de France, meant a frustrating viewing experience too. And as Paris 2024 meandered through 12 tableaux of this floating parade, President Emmanuel Macron ’s words proved rather prescient.
Clearly craving an idyllic sunset and starlit sky in the City of Light alongside its River Seine backdrop, Paris left many wondering why it swerved from the conventional format.
“It seemed to be a crazy and not very serious idea," Macron remarked on Monday. "But we decided it was the right moment to deliver this crazy idea and make it real.”
He may privately concede it was a stupid idea after a relentless spell of rain tested the viewer’s enthusiasm for its cultural adventure.
Those braving the elements roared as Zinedine Zidane grabbed the Olympic torch inside the Stade de France before dashing across the streets of Paris to catch the metro. The short film included a power outage underground with the legendary footballer passing on the torch to a group of kids to plot their way through the pitch-black catacombs and the city’s famous underworld.
The City of Light soon greeted the athletes with a curtain of water along the river, paving the way for Greece to emerge as the first boat of this ceremony. And a loud round of applause greeted each nation and the Refugee Olympic Team, prompting Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, to rise to his feet. A clear reminder of the hope the Games can bring to so many.
There was then an assortment of cabaret, revolutionary rock and mystique surrounding the torchbearer discovering the Mona Lisa missing from the Louvre. The section dedicated to “the women of gold”, including former rower Alice Milliat, who campaigned for equality in the Games, felt appropriate. Paris can proudly claim 50 percent of the athletes are women, defining it as the gender equal Olympics. That may prove its legacy before many sports even start.
Bon soir , Lady Gaga remarked, adding a sprinkle of stardust to the evening’s entertainment.
But this felt like a missed opportunity to deliver a grand opening before a festival of sport three years since a hollow version at the Tokyo Olympics due to the Covid pandemic.
Fans are craving a true sporting spectacular as memories of Rio de Janeiro continue to fade and Paris may yet deliver on this, which is ultimately what defines the legacy of any Olympic Games.
The sport cannot come soon enough, and perhaps we already saw the opening ceremony after a raucous French crowd rallied behind Antoine Dupont and his teammates in the sevens on Thursday. Sport has the power to unite and maybe an instinctive feeling reaches further a collection of performances.
But any anticipation spilling over from the initial action on Wednesday and Thursday was quickly dampened, replaced initially with anxiety after major travel delays and cancellations sparked by saboteurs launching a series of arson attacks on the country's high-speed train lines.
It left the city eerily quiet right up to the start of the opening ceremony, with an overwhelming police presence and long queues for spectators bidding to cross the Parisian streets. It leaves an unknown impact on the initial sporting atmosphere, with an estimated 800,000 passengers affected before the backlog is cleared after the weekend.
But this inconvenience was made worse by a drenched city, including the temporary Trocadero amphitheatre, which eventually greeted athletes after they emerged from their boats sopping but eager to remain in the spirit of the Games.
The poignancy behind French singer Juliette Armanet’s version of ‘Imagine’ prompted a reminder that the Games does stretch beyond sporting excellence in a call for peace and solidarity. And there will be plenty of reminders across the fortnight, as many show solidarity with Palestine and Ukraine. A horsewoman would then gallop along the surface of the Seine in one final breathtaking moment.
If France was eager to demonstrate its joie de vivre , then perhaps the dismal conditions provided the ultimate example of this. An opportunity to celebrate in the face of adversity with an opening ceremony like no other.
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