The opening ceremony casts a stately glow over Paris.
The 2024 Olympics in Paris are officially open after a spectacular opening ceremony that saw Lady Gaga and Celine Dion perform.After a long boat ride and an even longer lights show, the torch is passed to former French tennis player and world number one Amelie Mauresmo, who jogs up from the river towards the Louvre!
Inside, the torch is passed to Tony Parker, France’s most famous basketball player and a four-time NBA champion. Mauresmo joins Parker as the pair run together towards the famous glass pyramind. As they get closer, they pass the torch onto a trio of Paralympians.
They all run together. Great to see parasport put in the foreground. After jogs, the flame is passed on to the next and the next. Then the steps get fewer before the next person takes over, as a host of famous French athletes have their moment.
The oldest Olympic champion, who is 100, passes on the flame — what a sight! The ever-growing group approaches a huge balloon, two go forward and “light” it up the cauldron undearneath before it takes flight into the air and hangs there. Wow! The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris have now officially started!
And now Celine Dion is singing on the Eiffel Tower! What is happening? What a comeback from the Canadian-born singer, who has been struggling with stiff-person syndrome since 2022 and hasn’t performed in four years. And she absolutely nails it too. What a finish!
