By Todd Karpovich
Contributing Writer
Eighty-five boats carrying thousands representing 206 countries traveled along the Seine River, officially opening the 2024 Olympics in Paris on Friday.
There was also a parade that ended at the Iena Bridge that links the iconic Eiffel Tower — adorned with the five Olympic rings — on the left bank of the Seine to the Trocadéro district, where French President Emmanuel Macron celebrated the historic occasion with a speech and waved to the throng of fans.
Plumes of red, blue, and white smoke — the colors of the French flag — filled the sky as the ceremony began. The athletes on the boats enthusiastically waved their countries’ flags, some of them singing their national anthems.
The ceremonies were part of the pomp and spectacle of this summer’s Olympic opening ceremonies, which were held outside a stadium for the first time since the games began in Athens, Greece, in 1896. There was a boat carrying 37 athletes from the Refugee Olympic Team, representing more than 100 million forcibly displaced people worldwide.
The rainy conditions did not diminish the excitement for the Paris Olympics, a two-week global competition featuring dozens of sports, hundreds of countries, and thousands of athletes. Some games, such as men’s and women’s soccer and rugby, have already begun.
The ceremonies were attended by an estimated 200,000 spectators. In addition, more than 100,000 fans bought tickets to watch from the Trocadéro plaza. Organizers also set up 80 giant screen television monitors around Paris for those who were not able to obtain a ticket to the event.
Celebrities who attended the opening ceremonies included tennis star and four-time gold medalist Serena Williams, Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron, rock legend Mick Jagger, and movie director Steven Spielberg.
Coco Gauff, the reigning U.S. Open champion and women’s world No. 2 tennis player, joined NBA star and three-time Olympian Lebron James as the flag bearers for the United States at the opening ceremony. The U.S. athletes wore blue blazers with red and white trim and denim jeans to the ceremony. The American athletes participating in this summer games with the most Olympic medals are swimmers Katie Ledecky (10) and Caeleb Dressel (7), gymnast Simone Biles (7), and women’s basketball player Diana Taurasi (5).
Rapper Snoop Dogg carried the Olympic torch ahead of the opening ceremony. French soccer star and World Cup winner Zinedine Zidane took the torch from the stadium on a journey to the Seine River.
Athletes aboard the boats were able to get a view of several Olympic venues, including La Concorde Urban Park, Invalides, and the Grand Palais.
It was also the first time Paris hosted the Olympics since 1924.
There was heavy security at the opening ceremony consisting of about 45,000 police officers and other security patrolling the areas. The city was on full alert after a series of arson attacks on France’s national rail system were coordinated the previous night.
