Paris Olympic Games Begin With Ambitious, If Rainy, Ceremony on the Seine

PARIS — 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 that crammed the Seine’s banks and bridges and watched from balconies “oohed” and “aahed” as Olympic teams paraded in boats down the waterway. Undeterred from the festivities, many of the hundreds of thousands of spectators huddled under umbrellas and jackets as the rain intensified, though some dashed from their seats to seek shelter.“The rain can’t stop us,” said American basketball star LeBron James. He and the other American flag bearer, tennis player Coco Gauff, donned clear plastic ponchos.The rain made for some bizarre scenes: 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 to what is expected to be a more than three-hour show.French-Malian pop star Aya Nakamura, the most listened-to French-speaking artist in the world, sang her hit “Djadja” accompanied by the orchestra of the French Republican Guard. She emerged from a pyrotechnic display, wearing an all-gold outfit as she performed with a Republican guard band of the French army.Merging the elements of opera and rock metal music on the global stage, band Gojira brought their progressive and technical death metal style, while singer Marina Viotti inserted her mezzo-soprano vocals.A singer resplendently dressed in the French colors of blue, white and red belted out France’s national anthem, La Marseillaise, from the iron- and glass-domed roof of the Grand Palais, the venue for fencing and taekwondo. In the VIP section further along the river, French President Emmanuel Macron and others stood as she sang.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 statues will be offered to the city after the ceremony. 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 Siene, iconic monuments became stages for dancers, singers and other artists.The sprawling ceremony 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 nearly 4-mile parade route. The jetting waters were a wink at the splendid fountains of Versailles Palace, now 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. 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 a 54-year-old Texan, Tony Gawne, 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.Associated Press

Paris Olympic Games Begin With Ambitious, If Rainy, Ceremony on the Seine

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