Jamaica’s delegation was among the paraders along the 6 kilometer stretch of the river sen as French President Emmanuel Macron declared the Olympic Games open today after a soaking wet ceremony in which athletes were cheered by the crowd along the seine, dancers took to the roofs of Paris and Lady Gaga sang a French cabaret song.
France’s three-time olympic gold medallists Marie-Jose Perec and Teddy Riner then lit the Olympic Cauldron, suspended on a hot-air balloon, before Canada’s Celine Dion sang Edith Piaf’s “Hymn to love”, in her first public performance in years, drawing huge cheers from the crowd.
A fleet of barges took the competitors on a 6 km-stretch of the river alongside some of the french capital’s most famous landmarks, as performers recreated some of the sports to be showcased in the games on floating platforms.
It was the first time that an opening ceremony has taken place outside a stadium, adding to the headaches for a vast security operation, just hours after a sabotage attack on the high-speed tgv rail network caused travel chaos across France.
More than 10,500 athletes will compete at the Olympics, 100 years since paris last staged the games.
Competition started on Wednesday and the first of the 329 gold medals will be awarded on Saturday.
