The opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be remembered as a grandiose spectacle, an unprecedented artistic demonstration that successfully combined history, culture and sport in an extraordinary event. With a river parade on the Seine and breathtaking staging, the organizers succeeded in the audacious challenge of reinventing the codes of the opening ceremony to make it a truly global spectacle.
In the pouring rain, Emmanuel Macron officially opened the Paris Games, accompanied by international personalities and legends of French sport. This ceremony was marked by highlights, such as the lighting of the cauldron by Marie-Josée Pérec and Teddy Riner, the flame traveling a symbolic route from the Trocadéro to the Tuileries, and the moving performance by Céline Dion from the Eiffel Tower.
Director Thomas Jolly captivated the audience by revisiting the history of France through tableaux vivants and artistic performances. From Marie-Antoinette to Zinédine Zidane, to music icons like Lady Gaga and Philippe Katerine, the show was full of emotions and surprises.
The ceremony was also an opportunity to highlight often overlooked female figures from history, with tributes to women such as Simone Veil, Olympe de Gouges and Louise Michel. This highlighting of women’s history marked a new step in the commitment to gender equality at the Olympic Games.
The first gender-balanced Games in history thus began under the best auspices, with athletes from all over the world ready to shine on the emblematic sites of Paris. For two weeks, the stars of international sport will compete for gold in a variety of disciplines, in an atmosphere of competition and camaraderie.
Despite security challenges and controversies related to the participation of some athletes under a neutral banner, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games promise to be a memorable event, carrying universal values and intense emotions. In line with the great moments in Olympic history, this edition promises to write new pages of inspiration and self-improvement for competitors and spectators around the world.