Colorful fireworks in white, red, and blue lit up the Austerlitz Bridge, where the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics took place. The parade of the Olympic teams followed, with the boat of Greece, as tradition dictates, leading the way, followed by the Refugee Team in white and welcomed with applause.
Gianmarco Tamberi parades as the Italian flag bearer for the opening ceremony of the Paris Games and loses his wedding ring in the Seine. As soon as the Italian boat noticed, his teammates started teasing Gimbo. “Lost one gold, find another,” the male water polo players told him, adding that they would testify with his wife if needed.
PARIS 24 The boat on the Seine with Team Italy
The Italian boat parades on the Seine and Gianmarco Tamberi and Arianna Errigo wave the tricolor flag from the roof of the boat. The decision to have the athlete delegations parade on ‘bateaux mouches’ partly hides the flag bearers, but the Italians overcome the inconvenience by rising higher than the crowd of athletes. President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, present in the Trocadero stands for the ceremony, stood up to salute the Italian boat. Despite the incessant rain forcing him to wear a poncho, the Head of State stayed for the ceremony before leaving.
President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, accompanied by his daughter Laura
The Israeli delegation faced boos from some spectators between the Pont d’Austerlitz and the Pont de Sully during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games on the Seine. The boos were quickly drowned out by the cheers of the Italian delegation, chanting “Italy! Italy!”. Italy, Israel, Iceland, and Jamaica were all on the same boat during the ceremony.
The boat with the Greece team
Also present at the Paris 2024 opening ceremony is Bebe Vio, the only Italian participating in the show aside from the parade athletes. The Paralympic champion parades in a sparkling dress on the ‘Festivity’ chapter runway, celebrating. French organizers specifically requested Bebe Vio for her advocacy for inclusivity.
American star Lady Gaga made a surprise appearance at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Games, greeted by applause from the audience. Unexpectedly, she did not sing Edith Piaf’s “La vie en rose” but instead a great success of French music hall, “Mon truc en plumes” by Zizi Jeanmaire.
A few minutes before the start of the opening ceremony, President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella arrived at the official tribune at Trocadéro, on the opposite side of the Seine from the Eiffel Tower.
Emmanuel Macron and Thomas Bach
Premises were not the best: a massive attack on various points of the railway network disabled most of the high-speed trains, with 800,000 passengers stranded and traffic suspended to London. In Paris, main stations like Montparnasse are experiencing long delays. Additionally, weather forecasts have taken a wrong turn in recent days, with rain almost certain during the ceremony. A unpleasant surprise, highly predictable considering the season, with summer never truly starting.
“A massive attack to paralyze the railways,” denounced the railway company SNCF. Concerning the ceremony, it is estimated that many of the 800,000 stranded passengers are among the 320,000 expected to be present tonight on the Seine banks to witness the Ceremony, starting at 7:30 pm and lasting 4 hours. The initial investigations point to “ultraleft groups,” possibly linked to the “green” protest. The modus operandi, incendiary devices at strategic network junctions, suggests internal complicity within the company.
Committee President Tony Estanguet had few words on the weather conditions: “We will handle it,” he said, looking up at the gray, cloud-filled sky. An odd scenario in the morning at the scheduled committee press conference, with Estanguet, along with ceremony director Thierry Reboul and artistic director Thomas Jolly, canceled without official explanations twenty minutes before it was set to begin. The weather may have forced a review of some aspects of the ceremony, as a true rain plan does not exist.
In terms of security, everything is in place to ensure the safety of the audience, the athletes parading on 85 boats – Italy sharing theirs with Israel and several armed Israeli security personnel – with 45,000 police officers and gendarmes, 2,000 private agents, 1,000 municipal officers, and 10,000 military personnel. Antimine divers and elite shooters on helicopters are also on duty. Around a hundred heads of state and government will be in the official stand on the Trocadéro esplanade, facing the Eiffel Tower. Among them, Sergio Mattarella, who this morning inaugurated Casa Italia, the headquarters of the Italian athletes at the Olympics: “This Casa Italia – said the President of the Republic – demonstrates how our country participates in the Olympics with conviction and showcases the Italian genius.” He then lunched in the Italian stronghold of Bois de Boulogne with 5 Italian sport ambassadors.
Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA
