PARIS — Celebrating its reputation as a cradle of revolution, Paris kicked off its first Summer Olympics in a century on Friday with a rain-soaked, rule-breaking opening ceremony studded with stars and fantasy along the Seine River.
On-and-off showers — the first rain at a Summer Olympics’ opening ceremony in more than 70 years — did not dampen the enthusiasm of the athletes. Some held umbrellas as they rode boats down the river, showcasing the city’s resilience as authorities managed widespread travel disruptions triggered by what French officials called coordinated arson attacks on high-speed rail lines.
Despite the weather and travel issues, crowds crammed the Seine’s banks and bridges, watching from balconies and “oohing” and “aahing” as Olympic teams paraded in boats down the increasingly choppy waterway.
Undeterred by the downpour, many of the hundreds of thousands of spectators huddled under umbrellas, plastic ponchos, or jackets. As the rain intensified, some danced and sang while others dashed for shelter.
“The rain can’t stop us,” said U.S. basketball star LeBron James, sporting a plastic poncho alongside fellow American flag bearer, tennis player Coco Gauff.
The weather made for some bizarre scenes: a pianist played on even as puddles formed on his grand piano, and a breakdancer flipped on a rain-drenched platform. Some athletes in Bermuda-style colorful shirts looked ready for the beach, not a deluge.
As global audiences tuned in, Paris put its best foot forward with a spectacular Olympic launch. Joyous French cancan dancers featured early on, followed by a humorous short film starring soccer icon Zinedine Zidane. Plumes of French blue, white, and red smoke filled the air.
Lady Gaga performed in French in a prerecorded segment, dancers shaking pink plumed pompoms for a cabaret feel. To close the show, Celine Dion, under the Eiffel Tower, delivered her first live performance since being diagnosed with stiff person syndrome in 2022.
French-Malian pop star Aya Nakamura, the most listened-to French-speaking artist in the world, emerged from a pyrotechnic display in an all-gold outfit to sing her hit “Djadja” with a Republican guard band of the French army.
More than three hours into the show, French President Emmanuel Macron declared the Games open. In a gaffe shortly beforehand, the five-ring Olympic flag was raised upside down at the Trocadero across from the Eiffel Tower.
The final torch relay spanned landmarks like the Louvre, with sports legends like Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal involved. French judo champ Teddy Riner and three-time Olympic champion runner Marie-Jose Perec lit the Olympic cauldron attached to a giant balloon, which floated into the Paris night.
The ceremony celebrated women with 10 golden statues of female pioneers rising from giant pedestals along the river. Among them was Olympe de Gouges, who drafted the Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Female Citizen in 1791 during the French Revolution. Gouges campaigned for the abolition of slavery and was guillotined in 1793.
The Paris Games aim to be the first with equal numbers of men and women competing.
With the ambitious ceremony, the stakes for France were immense. Dozens of heads of state and government were in town, and the world watched as Paris turned into a giant open-air theater. Along the Seine, iconic monuments became stages for dancers, singers, and other artists.
Sofia Cohen, 20, watching with her father, called the ceremony “electric.” The Nicaraguan-Americans said the roar of applause for the Ukrainian team was their favorite part.
“Every Olympics is different, and this one was very French. The ceremony started out very majestic and regal. And as the rain started pouring down and time went on, everything got a little more hectic and fun,” she said.
The sprawling event gave organizers bigger crowds to transport, organize, and safeguard than would have been the case with stadium shows.
Still, as the show got underway, optimism soared that Paris — true to its motto of being unsinkable — might just see its gambles pay off. That’s despite the soggy weather — no other Summer Olympics opening ceremony has had rain since Helsinki in 1952.
Paris organizers said 6,800 of the 10,500 athletes would attend before embarking on the next 16 days of competition.
The boats carrying the Olympic teams started the parade by breaking through curtains of water that cascaded down from Austerlitz Bridge, the start of the nearly 4-mile route. The jetting waters were a nod to the fountains of Versailles Palace, the venue for Olympic equestrian competitions.
Per Olympic protocol, the first boat carried athletes from Greece, birthplace of the ancient Games. It was followed by the Olympic team of refugee athletes and then the other nations in French alphabetical order.
Usually, the parade of athletes takes place during a pause in the razzmatazz. But Paris shattered that tradition by blending the parade with the pageantry, merging sports and artistic expression.
Some spectators who followed organizers’ advice to arrive early along the route fumed over long waits to get to their seats.
“Paris has been great, anything to do with the Olympics and dissemination of information has been horrible,” said Tony Gawne, a 54-year-old Texan who arrived six hours in advance with his wife.
“When you spend $6,000 on two tickets, well, that’s a little frustrating,” he said.
But Paris had plenty of aces up its sleeve. The Eiffel Tower, visible below the clouds, Notre Dame Cathedral — restored from the ashes of its 2019 fire — the Louvre Museum, and other iconic monuments starred in the opening ceremony. Award-winning theater director Thomas Jolly, the show’s creative mind, used the signature Paris cityscape of zinc-gray rooftops as his playground.
His task was to tell the story of France, its people, and their history in a way that leaves an indelible imprint on Olympic audiences. Refresh the image and self-confidence of a French capital repeatedly struck by deadly extremist attacks in 2015. Capture how Paris aims to reboot the Olympics with more appealing and sustainable Summer Games.
It’s a big ask. So Paris went big, very big. That goes for security, too. Large fenced-off stretches of central Paris were locked down to those without passes, and the skies during the ceremony were a no-fly zone for 93 miles around.
During the athletes’ waterborne adventure, they passed historic landmarks transformed into arenas for Olympic sports.
Concorde Plaza, where French revolutionaries guillotined King Louis XVI and other royals, now hosts skateboarding and other sports. The golden-domed resting place of Napoleon Bonaparte serves as the backdrop for Olympic archery, and the Eiffel Tower donated chunks of iron inlaid in the gold, silver, and bronze Olympic medals to be won in 329 medal events across 32 sports.
Paris aims “to show to the whole world and to all of the French that in this country, we’re capable of exceptional things,” said Estanguet.
