Despite security checks and heavy rain tonight, fans lined the banks of the Seine in Paris to watch a spectacular 2024 Olympics opening ceremony that featured Lady Gaga, the Can-Can and a horse galloping down along the river’s waters among other spectacles.
Olympics fever had been slow to build in Paris where local residents have complained about street closures in the heart of the city and local businesses have bemoaned a lack of trade as the French capital was transformed into an open-air fortress, Reuters reported.
A flotilla of barges carried more than 6,000 athletes, including Nigerian representatives, along the Seine river in a nearly four-hour show, as rain poured down, soaking competitors, VIP guests and some 300,000 spectators.
France rolled out an unprecedented peacetime security operation to secure the event, due to security threats, especially after the arson attack on the high-speed rail network earlier in the day.
Some 45,000 police and thousands of soldiers have been deployed, airspace around the Greater Paris region shut down, and snipers positioned on rooftops.
The opening ceremony was not dampened by the rain as the athletes danced on their boats and spectators were entertained by a succession of international artistes, with continuous electronic dance music blasting around the venue.
The unique floating Olympic torch was eventually lit by French athletics legend Marie Perec and judo great Teddy Riner after the torch was passed from one superstar to another.
French football great Zinedine Zidane, Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal, as well as great American sports stars Serena Williams and Carl Lewis were also part of the glittering array of sporting greats who served as torchbearers.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach praised the Olympic spirit of unity in diversity during his speech, while French President Emmanuel Macron officially declared the Games open.
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