Special, spectacular: certainly unique. This is the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, a first organized along the Seine, the river that crosses the French capital. Italy was the 91st nation to parade out of a total of 207 nations represented. The enthusiasm was contagious despite the rain that gave no respite to the event. Lady Gaga opens the ball and surprises with a spectacular tribute to the cabaret, “Mon truc en plumes” by Zizi Jeanmaire. Boos for the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron, who has just gone on stage to officially declare the Olympic Games open. One of the icons of French football Zinedine Zidane handed the Olympic flame to the Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal. The tennis player then passed the torch to Serena William, another great American tennis player, in the same boat as Carl Lewis and Nadia Comăneci. Our President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella is heroic. At 83 years old, just three days ago, on July 23, the president resisted until the end in pouring rain to personally greet and applaud the passage of the Azzurri boat on the Seine. The ceremony ended with the voice of Céline Dion returning, sublime with Édith Piaf's Ode to Love, to close the event after Marie-José Perec and Teddy Riner lit the Paris 2024 flying tripod.
Delegations on the Seine for the Olympic Games
In the first opening scene of the event, a mysterious torchbearer enters the empty stadium, is surprised, wonders where the Games are: then the TV announces that the ceremony will take place on the Seine, and the torch is taken up by Zinedine Zidane. The parade of boats on the Seine ends with the passage of the French delegation: the flagbearers are the athlete Mélina Robert-Michon and the swimmer Florent Manadou.
Stars in the rain, Cruise, Musk and Jagger
Despite the rain, the stars are shining in Paris. On the Seine, applauding the parade of delegations for the opening ceremony, there were – among others – Mick Jagger, Tom Cruise, Elon Musk and Pharrell Williams. All the guests of Louis Vuitton, on the deck of the Concorde transformed for the occasion into a 3-star restaurant.
Unanimous applause for the Palestinian delegation
Unanimous applause from the entire audience for the Palestinian delegation, at the front of their boat. The team is composed of 8 athletes, six men and two women, who will compete in 6 different disciplines: taekwondo, athletics, swimming, judo, boxing and shooting.
Bebe Vio walks the catwalks in Paris
Italian Paralympic athlete Bebe Vio also appeared on the catwalk, where creations by emerging French designers were paraded.
Statues for the women who made France great
During the celebrations, in the chapter “Sororitè” – sisterhood which is the modern version of the concept of “Fraternity” – the golden statues of Olympe de Gouges, Alice Milliat, Gisèle Halimi, Simone de Beauvoir, Paulette Nardal, Jeanne Barret, Louise Michel, Christine de Pizan, Alice Guy and Simone Veil punctuated the show on the banks of the Seine. These are women with different profiles but who – each in their own way – have made France great and for some, like Simone Veil, Europe too, as the first female president of the European Parliament elected by universal suffrage in 1979.
Mona Lisa “disappears” in front of the Louvre
As he passes the Louvre, a mysterious figure takes possession of the Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece, and carries it away under his arm. A historical reference to the theft of the famous painting in 1911.
Italian boats parade, Tamberi and Errigo hoist the tricolour flag
The Italian boats parade on the Seine: Gianmarco Tamberi and Arianna Errigo wave the tricolor flag from the roof of the boat. The choice of having the delegations of athletes parade on the bateaus mouches partly hides the flag bearers, but the blues overcome the inconvenience by standing taller than the large group of blue athletes. In the official stands, President Sergio Mattarella, who stood up to greet the Italian boat led by the two flag bearers, Gianmarco Tamberi and Arianna Errigo. The Head of State is present at the ceremony despite the incessant rain which forced him to wear a poncho.
The last (masked) torchbearer parades over the rooftops
The mysterious last torchbearer, who will light the fire at the end of the Olympic Games opening ceremony, is the – masked – protagonist of his own personal parade, which sees him speed across the rooftops of Paris, towards the Trocadéro, then the Louvre and finally the Musée d'Orsay.
The two great leaders absent from the Olympic Games
French President Emmanuel Macron, after the reception at the Elysée, accompanies the foreign leaders to the stage of honor located on the banks of the Trocadéro district. The athletes, instead of parading inside a stadium as in the past, will sail this time on large boats. More than 300,000 spectators are expected. For Italy, the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella is present in the French capital and today inaugurated the “Casa Italia” in the salons of the “Prè Catelan” where on the evening of June 23, 1894 Baron Pierre de Coubertin, with a sumptuous banquet, toasted for having restored the ancient Olympic Games. “The global proximity of our country to the Olympic event, this engaging and evocative place (Casa Italia, editor's note) demonstrates how our country participates with conviction in the Olympic Games and what Italian genius is,” said Mattarella. Two were absent: Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was not invited, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Where to watch the Olympic ceremony on TV and streaming
The event can be seen online and on television: it is available from 7pm, free-to-air on Rai 2 and for a fee on Discovery+ and Eurosport, but also on Sky and DAZN. Free online and at no extra cost on RaiPlay, which will follow the entire ceremony visible to all, or on Discovery+, which will broadcast the entire Olympic event in its entirety. The ceremony will also be broadcast on Sky Go, NOW and DAZN.
The Azzurri boat at the Olympic Games
The Italian delegation that will participate in the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games left the Olympic Village around 5 pm. During the great aquatic parade, the Italians will be on boat 37 on the upper floor with Jamaica. Below, at the front, the delegations of Iceland and Israel. With a post published on a joint Instagram account (gianmarcotamberi and aryerri), Gian Marco Tamberti and Arianna Errigo published the photo of the Italian delegation at the ceremony.
Read also:
