MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Rain fails to mar opening ceremony at Paris 2024

Athletes paraded down the Seine on boats

The opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics was held Friday for over four hours at the French capital amid constant downpours that were not enough to cloud the magnificence of the artistic display.

Some 6,800 athletes from all over the world paraded on 85 boats down the Seine River. As per Olympic tradition, Greece's delegation was first, followed by the one of refugee athletes. Hosting French competitors sailed through last. While some teams shared their boats, Brazil's contingent was so large it had one vessel for them.

Entertainers such as Lady Gaga, Céline Dion, and other performers contributed to the colorful event in which President Emmanuel Macron declared the Games open “celebrating the 33rd Olympiad of the modern era” 100 years after Paris last hosted the competitions. The 2024 version is scheduled to last through Aug. 11.

“Thank you for receiving us in this spectacular way. The Olympic flame will make Paris and all of France shine even brighter,” International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach said.

Everything was not as rosy for the hosts. The Algerian delegation threw flowers into the river in homage to their compatriots who drowned there in 1961 during the Paris Massacre. Niger's team also staged a military salute to remember their liberation from colonial status.

There was also a hooded bearer who led the torch through Paris' most iconic spots, such as Notre Dame and The Louvre Museum amid reenactments of historical facts such as the beheading at the guillotine of former Queen Marie Antoinette. Philosopher Alice Milliat underlined that the 2024 Olympic Games featured the largest female participation in history.

Once by the Eiffel Tower, the mysterious person passed on the torch to French football legend Zinedine Zidane, who was joined by tennis stars Rafael Nadal (Spain) and Serena Williams (US), in addition to sprinter Carl Lewis (US) and gymnast Nadia Comaneci (Romania). The group eventually handed over the flame to France's three-time gold medal winners Teddy Riner (judo) and Marie-Joseph Pérec (athletics) who lit up a hot air balloon. After that, Dion sang Edith Piaf's L'Hymne à L'Amour on one of the Eiffel Tower's walkways.

On a dark note, rioters sabotaged France's railway network despite extreme security measures. The attack sought to halt all train services and keep some 800,000 travelers from attending the sporting events they had planned to see.

On Thursday evening, Brazil's retired footballer Artur Antunes Coimbra, a.k.a. Zico, 71, was robbed of more than US$ 542,000 worth of jewels and money. Zico is in Paris as Brazil's Ambassador to the Olympic Games. His role is to escort the various Brazilian teams throughout the competition. According to Le Parisien, Zico ordered a cab and got in the back with a briefcase, where he kept a Rolex watch, diamond jewelry, and cash when someone distracted the car's occupants as an accomplice seized the luggage.

It was at least the third robbery so far surrounding the Games. Argentine footballer Thiago Almada was robbed of “a watch and rings” during a training session while Australian cyclist Logan Martin's van had some of his belongings taken when the team's van was intercepted in Belgium.