The metropolis of Paris become a colossal amphitheater, and the long-lasting river Seine served as a observe for the athletes’ parade as France showcased its cultural variety, spirit of revolution, impeccable craftsmanship and architectural heritage in a riveting opening ceremony for the thirty third Olympic Games on Friday. The spectacle began with a dreamy break from custom as ‘Parade of Nations’ kicked off the proceedings wherein athletes from 205 nations and one refugee crew sailed down the Seine on boats regardless of heavy rain, within the run-up to and in the course of the ceremony, threatening to play spoilsport.
The ceremony additionally gave a candy nod to ‘Hindi’ because it was among the many six languages utilized in infographics to pay tribute to the contribution of outstanding French ladies in the course of the section titled ‘sisterhood’.
But the spotlight was no doubt the athletes’ march on the Seine river.
The present started with digicam panning to French President Emmanuel Macron and International Olympic Committee head Thomas Bach after World Cup-winning soccer legend Zinedine Zidane was proven sprinting down the streets of Paris with the Olympic flame in a pre-recorded video.
The six kilometer parade started from Austerlitz bridge and 85 boats carried greater than 6800 athletes amid loud cheers from the gathered crowd. variety of athletes additionally skipped the unimaginable present as a result of their competitions on Saturday.
The sequence of arrivals adopted the French alphabetical order. The first to reach was the Greek contingent, for being the religious house of the Games, adopted by the Refugee crew.
The Indian contingent was led by two flag-bearers — two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and desk tennis legend A Sharath Kamal and was 84th on the decision sheet. The ladies within the contingent had been draped in sarees, whereas the lads sported the standard ‘kurta-payjama’ within the colors of the nationwide flag.
A complete of 78 Indian athletes and officers participated within the ceremony.
The boats handed by the long-lasting landmarks of the town such because the restored Cathedral of Notre Dame, which was gutted in a hearth 5 years in the past, the long-lasting Louvre Museum and in addition a couple of of the Games venues.
In April 2019, the pictures of the Cathedral on fireplace and the autumn of its spire had shocked the world.
American Pop famous person Lady Gaga was among the many first worldwide artists to enthral the assembled crowd. The ceremony was helmed by creative director Thomas Jolly.
Amid the colorful proceedings, a mysterious torch-bearer additionally turned a spotlight of consideration as he darted across the metropolis and its most well-known landmarks, holding the flame.
He additionally crossed the Seine from the Ile Saint-Louis on a zip-wire after the cabaret performers accomplished their act.
Adding a component of childlike enjoyable to the ceremony had been the world-famous Minions and the lacking Mona Lisa, which was in the end discovered floating on Seine.
The bridges dotting the parade route featured dance performances for the followers, who had gathered at completely different spots after greater than two lakh free tickets had been distributed other than the over one lakh that had been bought.
A glimpse of the workshops of the Monnaie de Paris, the place the medals for the Games have been cast, was introduced to honour the town’s famed craftsmanship. A complete of 5,084 medals are being produced for 2024 version of the Games and all of them may have a bit of the Eiffel Tower.
The ceremony additionally had a political theme within the section titled ’emancipation’, which was an ode to the 18th century ‘French Revolution’, triggered by the then monarch King Louis XVI’s profligacy.
A figurine of his executed spouse Marie Antoinette’s decapitated torso was a part of the act.
Antoinette is infamously quoted to have mentioned, “Let them eat cake”, when advised concerning the monetary misery of French commoners at the moment.
The organisers had promised an unforgettable spectacle, overcoming unprecedented logistical and safety challenges to make a whole metropolis the venue of the ceremony.
The organisers have claimed that the ceremony would be the greatest in Games historical past with greater than 300,000 folks watching on the banks of the Seine and billions tuned in on tv.
This is the third time Paris is internet hosting the Olympics after 1900 and 1924.
India is being represented by 117 athletes, together with 47 ladies, within the sporting spectacle.
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