The ceremony received mixed reviews, with many praising its artistic segments, musical performances, and grand finale, but criticizing the length of the ceremony and other production issues brought about by the format. The ceremony's use of camp elements received a mixed reception. A segment said to be celebrating diversity, and featuring drag, was criticized by Christian and conservative organizations and figures for allegedly referencing The Last Supper, which some critics interpreted as mocking Christianity, though Jolly denied that this was the intent.[2]
Logistics preparations were expected to be finalized by the end of 2023, with certain rehearsals occurring in some secret venues without public presence before the event. In some specific situations, they were carried out on-site, and were considered "teasers" by Thierry Reboul, executive director for the Games. The first camera test shots were done in September 2023 and coverage of the event was expected to be provided by 130 cameras placed in strategic positions.[3] The event was broadcast live to 80 giant screens along the route of the Seine.[4] Directed and created by theatre and television actor and director Thomas Jolly, it was the first opening ceremony held outside of an Olympic stadium since the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics held in Buenos Aires.[4][5] The choreography was created by Maud Le Pladec[fr].[6]
In the first phase of planning, the Games' Organizing Committee originally expected attendance to be upwards of 500,000 non-paying people [3] and an additional 100,000 paying spectators on the lower quays of the river,[7] for an expected total of 600,000. Although the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics held in Gangwon were the first to have a ticket-holding audience following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, this was the first time in the senior Olympics since the 2018 Winter Olympics to allow international spectators, after the 2022 Winter Olympics opening ceremony having a reduced number of local spectators.[8] However, after a suggestion in May 2023 by Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, the French Minister for Sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, that this be limited to between 300,000 and 400,000 free of charge, and after additional concerns of security and logistics, the figures was reduced to a maximum of 300,000 in November 2023.[7] In late December 2023, a further reduction was proposed, as security services would have preferred the ceremony in a stadium to facilitate implementing security measures.[9] The stands stretched from the François Mitterrand Library to the Eiffel Tower.[7]
The public lined the banks of the Seine, sitting on a 6-kilometre (3.7mi) stretch on the upper and lower quays as well of rivers that cross each side of the river.[3][4] The organizing team counted between 6,000 and 8,000 volunteers and workers. The ceremony directors had originally projected 2,000 dancers,[3] but this was lowered to 400 dancers in a total of 3,000 performers.[10] All personnel involved in water, air and land performances in total numbered 45,000, with an average of per 3,750 people per square kilometre (9,700/sqmi).[9] This figure does not include the roughly 2,000 security agents required to monitor the entry tents of paid ticketholders and law enforcement located on the elevated docks throughout the course.[9] The cast and athletes started their travel on the river from the Pont d'Austerlitz to the Pont d'Iena, in front of the Eiffel Tower and the Jardins du Trocadéro, where the main protocol was held.[8] The closest the general public could get to the athletes and parade on the Seine were on docked parties and the restaurant boats.[10]
In May 2023, the first series of tickets for the event went on sale via ballot for the first time, with prices ranging from €90 to €2,700,[11] with the latter being the most expensive tickets overall for the Games.[12]
In early 2022, the city government announced that due to security concerns, the riverside book stalls could be removed, leading to legal disputes until 13 February 2024, when the French President Emmanuel Macron shelved the plan. [13][14]
Bleachers along the Seine prior to the ceremony parade
The total number of boats and barges was near 160,[15] with around 58 taking part in a reduced rehearsal carried out in July 2023, carrying athlete delegations, television crews and emergency services.[5] 7,000[16] of the 10,500 athletes were expected to take part,[17] with 6,800 who actually ended up participating.[18] In April 2023, 116 vessels from 42 river companies had been committed, with an expected 98% of all boats to be used being based in Paris Metropolitan Area and the rest from regional boat companies, including local sponsor Highfield Boats. Some boats that carried some delegations are Bateaux Mouches that routinely sail the Seine.[11]
In February 2024, it was announced the number of spectators to attend the opening ceremony would be reduced from the proposed 600,000 spectators to around 300,000. There were 100,000 paid tickets for the ceremony, with around 200,000 free tickets.[19][20] The next month an exact amount of 326,000 tickets was stated, with 104,000 paid tickets for the lowest bank and 222,000 free tickets for the higher banks.[21] The free tickets were distributed in three rounds and aimed at families with low incomes living in underprivileged areas, sports movements, schools, volunteers and local workers including traders.[22] As originally proposed, no free tickets were given to group of tourists.[23]
The general rehearsal of the ceremony, which was scheduled for 24 June 2024, was postponed due to a strong flow in the Seine River.[24] It was rescheduled for 16 July 2024.[25]
Thierry Reboul, COJOP 2024 Director of Ceremonies, claimed that the inspiration for the event came in 2019 when he was walking along the river;[26] the original plans were to hold the ceremony at the Stade de France.[27] But COJOP2024 head Tony Estanguet wished from the start to "throw away the rule book".[26] Parisian mayor Anne Hidalgo assembled a committee to develop the creative aspects of the ceremony before COJOP2024 hired a creative director. The committee's chair, Patrick Boucheron, would eventually be one of the four individuals hired by Jolly to develop the script. Even before being chosen to plan the ceremony, Jolly had "dreamed of delegations arriving by hot air balloon, a French invention, and of the heads of dead kings rising from the Seine to watch the ceremony", yet this idea was not implemented.[27] Jolly and four scriptwriters planned the ceremony. They wore puffer jackets while going out on boats along the river from the Austerlitz Bridge to the Eiffel Tower. After these excursions, they spent nine months writing the ceremony script.[16] They took inspiration from the history of Paris,[16] and its main themes consisted of love and "shared humanity".[27]
After determining 12 important scenes of French history to represent, Jolly hired four subdirectors to develop the sounds, costumes and choreography of the event.[27]Daphné Bürki and Olivier Bériot were in charge of costumes while Maud Le Pladec[fr] was entrusted the choreography and dance,[28] with Victor Le Masne[fr], who developed the songs for the opening, awards and closing ceremonies in three seconds,was chosen as the musical director.[29] Certain elements and sequences were not able to be implemented such as having performers lean out of the Hôtel-Dieu, Paris decommissioned hospital building due to asbestos. Other plans that did not go through included a performance that would take place near a fish hatchery by the Béthune Quay on the bank of the Seine, which was not to be disturbed, a mass of dancers on a bridge that would have caused its collapse, and an undisclosed scene that had been reworked 73 times by May 2024.[27] In total, 3,000 performers took part, with at least 400 of these being professional dancers.[10]
Since the water level would rise or fall depending on the weather, the organizers developed "an artificial intelligence software to cast the route in 3-D so [Jolly] could visualize high and low water levels, rain, even storms".[27]
Safety measures
In October 2023, following security concerns caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Gaza–Israel war and the Arras school stabbing, both the French government and the Paris Organising Committee for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games (COJOP2024) stated there were no official plans to relocate, stating that "Plan A takes into account all of the threats". Oudéa-Castréa stated on BFM TV that they were paying attention to context and the government had been working on "adjustment variables", wishing to maintain the original format.[7] In December 2023, President Macron stated that there were multiple scenarios for the ceremony, in case of a major security event which would force it to move from the Seine. On this, COJOP2024 stated they had "contingency plans for all identified risk scenarios: heatwaves, cyberattacks, and the ceremony is no exception".[8] In April 2024 President Macron announced that in case of a terrorism threat, there was a plan B, and even plan C; in that case the Opening Ceremony would be moved to the Trocadero or to the Stade de France stadium.[30] Nevertheless, Christophe Dubi, the IOC Games executive director, stated the previous in March that a change to the Stade de France would be unlikely due to the event being "too big, too sophisticated, too complex artistically to look at a Plan B in another location".[17]
In April 2024, it was announced all buildings with a view of the Seine would have extra anti-terrorism protection.[31] Several areas near the Seine river, metro stations and adjacent museums including the Louvre, Orsay and the Decorative Arts Museums would be closed.[31] Being the largest ever security operation in France since the end of World War II,[26] after the closure of bridges from 8 July 2024, 18 days ahead of the Opening Ceremony, a security perimeter was placed around the ceremony sites from 18 July, 8 days ahead of the Ceremony.[30][32] The perimeter included, among others, prohibition of motorized access, controlled access for pedestrians with people within the perimeter subjected to a personal "Games pass".[32] All airports and airspace in a 90 miles (140km) radius would be closed during the ceremony, and 45,000 security officers, including over 2,000 foreign police, would be stationed in Paris during the ceremony.[17]
In the hours before the ceremonies, spectators faced long queues as well as ticketing obstacles. Many of the gates opened over an hour later than previously scheduled due to a lack of scanners to process all tickets.[33] That morning, a series of arsonattacks damaged the lines of the French railway system.[34] International and domestic rail services were widely disrupted,[35] with around 800,000 passengers affected.[36] There was also an attempted attack on LGV Sud-Est line, though it was interrupted by TGV maintenance workers who happened to be on site.[37]
The Parade had as its main inspiration Jean-Paul Goude's 200th anniversary parade of the French Revolution on Bastille Day in 1989 which was described in comparison as "an anti-national festival that rolled all of us into a "worldwide melting pot, with an optimism that we've lost today".[39] Taking inspiration from the homonym of the French for "stage" (scène) and the river Seine, the artistic portion of the event depicted 12 scenes from French history.[27] It was expected to be the grandest event on the Seine in 285 years since the celebrations organized by Louis XV for his daughter's wedding with Philip, Duke of Parma in 1739.[27] President Macron stated that the ceremony would include a "great story of emancipation and freedom", marking events from the French Revolution to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the latter having been signed at the exact same place the ceremony ended, the Palais de Chaillot.[16]
Gérald Darmanin, Minister of the Interior, had estimated that 25,000 security agents would be required and that around 35,000 police officers would be deployed for the opening ceremony.[11][1]
Entry to the venues opened at 17:30 CEST with the ceremony starting two hours later at 19:30 CEST.[33] For the first time in Olympic history, the athletes were paraded on boats such as tourist boats, ferries and yachts, and also for the first time, the parade was integrated into the artistic programme, as the Seine was the main venue for the event. Most of the ceremony took place under the rain, rather than on a traditional sunset on the Seine, this was the first Summer Olympics opening ceremony to be held in such a manner since the 2016 Summer Olympics which started with a small drizzle.[43]
Pyrotechnics at the Pont d'Austerlitz marking the start of the Parade of Nations
After everyone was seated and the Olympic torch relay ended its metropolitan leg around the area surrounding the Stade de France, the artistic portion began with a pre-recorded video (with footage of past opening ceremonies of the Games) of comedian Jamel Debbouze carrying the flame into an empty Stade de France, having not realized that the opening ceremony would be held outside the stadium. Interspersed were clips of newscasters around the world reporting that the ceremony would not be in a stadium, but instead at along the Seine after his arrival inside the stadium and wondering where is everybody. He is approached by footballer Zinedine Zidane, who takes the torch through the city streets, leaping through a traffic jam, disrupting people at a cafe and attracting the attention of a trio of children representing the three times Paris has hosted the Games. Zidane then heads into the Paris Métro,[a] which is decorated with posters from previous Games on its billboards, and boards a train about to depart. Before the train can leave the station, it breaks down, prompting Zidane to pass the torch to the children through the train window. After traversing the Catacombs of Paris and the legendary underground lake beneath the Palais Garnier, the children are approached by a mysterious hooded and masked torchbearer rowing a boat. The trio climb aboard, putting on life jackets that are colored after the French flag and as they begin their journey to the outside world, the camera pans up to the Trocadéro stage to present in live format the authorities present at the ceremonies: Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, and Emmanuel Macron, president of the French Republic, as they stand up to welcome the crowd. After that, the boat is rowed through a tunnel, into a light that shines to reveal the phrase "Ça ira" (literally, "will happen"; figuratively, "it'll be fine") as the boat arrived on the Seine. The parade then began on the Pont d'Austerlitz bridge (decorated in Olympic theming), as pyrotechnics in the tricolour of the flag of France, and jets of water from the Seine opened the Parade of Nations.
The masked torchbearer[b] was the main protagonist of the opening ceremony, serving as a connecting thread throughout the ceremony similar to how Nikki Webster was the main star of the opening ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics as the hero girl. The torchbearer character made appearances between segments in pre-recorded scenes, and live on the Seine, the rooftops of Paris, the city's landmarks and shows up in the middle of the performances. The torchbearer represented several mysterious masked French heroes, such as Arsène Lupin, the Phantom of the Opera, Fantômas and Phantom R, as well as modern depictions of the Olympic spirit and a diversity of characteristics of French culture. [10] The figure was also compared to the French video game company Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed franchise characters' hoods and parkour action, especially to Arno Dorian, who appears in the 2014 installment Assassin's Creed Unity set during the French Revolution.[45] It was anticipated that the masked torchbearer would reveal themself at the end of the ceremony and light the cauldron,[44] but their identity was not revealed.[46]
Shortly after the ceremony ended, professional tag player Clément Dumais wrote on Twitter that a total of 12 people had portrayed the character during the four-hour ceremony, including parkour artist Simon Nogueira, while ruling out his own participation.[47]
Enchanté
Dancers from the Moulin Rouge at the Quai d'Orleans
The first sequence, Enchanté (enchant/delight), a man sitting at the top of Pont d'Austerlitz played an accordion rendition of Cerrone's "Supernature" began the first of the four blocs of the parade with the Greek delegation and the Refugee Olympic Team, and through to the Bahraini delegation.[10] The first musical act featured Lady Gaga and eight dancers waving large pink ostrich feather hand fans, all in custom Dior costumes. The segment (pre-recorded for "safety reasons")[48] alluded to "a cabaret feel" with a performance of "Mon truc en plumes", made famous by vedetteZizi Jeanmaire, on a golden staircase beside a black grand piano below Square Barye[fr] at the southeast point of Île Saint-Louis.[49] The singer wore a black satin bustier under a black feather jacket and welcomed the audience by saying "Bonsoir, bienvenue à Paris", which means "Good evening, welcome to Paris".[50]
Recalling Edith Piaf's song "La Vie en rose", the parade resumed with the Bangladeshi through Chinese delegations passing by the Quai de Bethune decorated with large old postcards of Parisian monuments from the Belle Époque era printed in pink and populated with a crowd of characters dressed in pink waving at them, including big head versions of famous French historical figures and characters and the Olympic Phryge in its only appearance at the ceremony. This scene is a reference to the La Rue Montorgueil painting by Claude Monet. The three children and the masked torchbearer show up in the pink crowd and the children hand the Olympic torch to the torchbearer, who runs off with it and heads onto the rooftops with the torch in their hand. Dancers from the Moulin Rouge, also dressed in pink, then danced at the Quai d'Orleans, to the music of the French can-can "Galop infernal" from Jacques Offenbach's opera Orpheus in the Underworld. The sequence ended with the masked torchbearer crossing the river on a zip line.
The second sequence, Synchronicité (synchronicity), started with a dance tribute by 420 people to the reconstruction teams of Notre-Dame repairing the cathedral following its 2019 fire and to artisans in general, held on Île de la Cité. This sequence featured French-Senegalese dancer Guillaume Diop on the rooftop of the Hôtel de Ville and Olympic champions Martin Fourcade and Michael Phelps. Aside from the Notre-Dame's reconstruction, the sequence also highlighted the making of the Olympic medals in their three metals at the Monnaie de Paris and the Louis Vuitton cases that carry them.
Liberté
The third sequence, Liberté (liberty), was themed after the French Revolution, the Reign of Terror and their aftermath. In a pre-recorded scene at the Théâtre du Châtelet, the torchbearer witnesses a performance of "A la volonté du peuple" (the original French version of "Do You Hear the People Sing?") by a group of actors playing in the musical Les Misérables, which then cuts to live footage of the façade of the Conciergerie. In one of its windows, a beheaded Marie Antoinette sang the opening notes of Ah! ca ira!, joined by heavy metal band Gojira playing enthusiastically, perched on small platforms that stuck out from other windows. Soprano Marina Viotti[fr] joined Gojira in the latter half of the song, before performing a rendition of the Habanera from Georges Bizet's opera Carmen, all done while "sailing" along the Quai de l'Horloge on a float in the shape of the boat present on the coat of arms of Paris.
Actors Yuming Hey[fr], Léa Luce Busato, and Elan Ben Ali performed a pre-recorded seduction scene at the salle ovale of the Richelieu site of the Bibliothèque nationale de France to French literature titles including: Romances Sans Parole (Romances Without Words) by Paul-Marie Verlaine, 1874; Bel-Ami (Nice Friend) by Guy de Maupassant, 1885; On Ne Badine Pas Avec L'amour (No Trifling with Love) by Alfred de Musset, 1834; Passion Simple (Simple Passion) by Annie Ernaux, 1992; Sexe Et Mensonges (Sex and Lies) by Leila Slimani, 2021; Le Diable Au Corps (The Devil in the Body) by Raymond Radiguet, 1923; Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Dangerous Relationships) by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, 1782; Les Amants Magnifiques (The Magnificent Lovers) by Molière, 1670; and Le Triomphe De L'amour (The Triumph of Love) by Pierre de Marivaux, 1732. The scene also addressed diverse forms of love (including LGBT themes and polyamory) expressed by acrobats from the XY company, circus artists from the Gratte-Ciel company, and tightrope walker Nathan Paulin[fr], performing live at the Pont Neuf. The sequence ended with a red heart drawn in the sky with trails of colored smoke.
Égalité
The Republican Guard marching band played the introduction of "For me formidable"[fr] by Charles Aznavour on the Pont des Arts footbridge, opening the fourth sequence, Égalité (equality). During the band's performance, the masked torchbearer turns up and uses the Olympic flame to light up the stage for French singer Aya Nakamura, who performed a mashup of three songs: "Pookie", "Djadja" and some stanzas from "For me formidable", in front of the Institut de France in a special brass version with the Choir of the French Army and musicians of the Republican Guard.
The seventh sequence, Sportivité (sportsmanship), resumed the parade boats with the Japanese through Norwegian delegations. Athletes demonstrated urban sports, namely skateboarding and BMX freestyle, as well as breakdancing on floating ramps near Port du Gros-Caillou[fr]. Polish countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński dressed as a Pierrot who sang Viens Hymen from Jean-Philippe Rameau's opera Les Indes galantes, becoming the first artist from Poland to perform at an Olympic Games opening ceremony.[51] Orliński then performed some breakdancing in a nod to the sport's inclusion at the Games.[51] Rapper Rim'K followed, singing his song "King" near Pont de l'Alma on board what would be the dance barge on the following sequence.
The eighth sequence, Festivité (festivity/celebration), started with a tribute to French fashion at the red carpet on the Passerelle Debilly. The parade continued on to its end with the Kiwi through Zimbabwean delegations, then the Australian and the American delegations as their cities Brisbane and Los Angeles, are the next Summer Olympic Games hosts in 2032 and 2028 respectively. The masked torchbearer walked past the models and performed acrobatics on the Passerelle, after which a live video feed showed the participants of the Olympic surfing tournaments on Tahiti. The parade of boats culminated with the French delegation arriving on a large boat.
A tribute to the European Union was introduced by "The Final Countdown" by Swedish band Europe and a projection show of the 12 stars of the EU flag revolving around the Eiffel Tower, and featured drag queens including Nicky Doll and dancers including Germain Louvet, Electro Street, and the Mazelfreten collective, continuing on the waterlogged red carpet of the Debilly footbridge, as well as a barge with an LED dancefloor, to Eurodance tracks (see below), and Philippe Katerine seen nearly nude and painted as a blue Dionysus (the Greek god of wine, in tribute to France's wine industry and the ancient Greek Olympics),[52][53] performed "Nu[fr]", lying at the center of a long table, with the drag queens posed in a sort of Bacchanalian feast. Some commentators in the news media noted the pose as a possible allusion to the Jan van Bijlert painting Le Festin des Dieux, and to the relationship between Dionysus and his daughter Sequana, the goddess of the Seine,[54][55][56] while others interpreted it as depicting a reimagining of The Last Supper by da Vinci.[57][58][59][60] Katerine's display was also compared to Papa Smurf from the Belgian comic series The Smurfs (one of the popular French-language comics).[52]
The soundtrack of the first eight sequences included rearranged classics of French chanson and pop culture mixed by DJ Barbara Butch:[61]
The ninth sequence, Obscurité (obscurity/darkness), continued on from Festivité, with the music turning darker in mood and the dancers aboard the barge becoming more frenetic. As its LED floor flashed a montage of various climate disasters, including droughts, floods, and forest fires, the dancers slowly collapsed, one by one. As the Seine darkened, Juliette Armanet appeared on a raft singing "Imagine" as part of a call for peace, accompanied by Sofiane Pamart on a burning piano.
Solidarité
The tenth sequence, Solidarité (solidarity), showcased a hooded knight-resembling masked horsewoman, representing both the patron saint of France, Joan of Arc, and the goddess of the river Seine, Sequana, as well as serving as the secondary main character of the opening ceremony. The horsewoman wears the Olympic flag as a cape along with silver and black armour, and rides a metallic mechanical horse galloping at 25 km/h midstream on the Seine.[62][63] As she gallops, she spreads dove wings above the Seine, an ancient symbol of peace between nations during the Olympic truce. Once the mechanical horse completes its course on the Seine, the horsewoman shows up riding a live, white horse on land, crossing the pont d'Iena. The horsewoman riding on the Seine was Morgane Suquart[62] and the horsewoman riding a real horse on land and presenting the Olympic flag was Floriane Issert.[64][65] This segment referenced Pierre de Coubertin and the history of the Olympics, with numerous archival images and highlights of past Games. Volunteers carrying the flags of the participating countries gathered on pont d'Iéna. The horsewoman climbed out of the white horse and carried another, folded Olympic flag on foot to a mast at the Trocadéro, surrounded by athletes. The Olympic Hymn was performed by the Radio France Choir[fr] featuring the Maîtrise de Radio France and the Orchestre National de France in Greek as members of the French Armed Forces raised the flag, which was accidentally raised upside down.[66]
The 1.80 meter metal horse was designed and built by Atelier Blam, a Nantes design studio founded by Aurélien Meyer. The rider's costume, designed by Jeanne Friot and Robert Mercier, is an upcycled leather armor, giving Morgane Suquart the look of a modern Joan of Arc.[62]
"Je proclame ouverts les Jeux de Paris célébrant la XXXIIIe Olympiade des temps modernes." -"I proclaim open the Games of Paris, celebrating the XXXIII Olympiad of the modern times."
The Olympic oath was sworn by French flag bearers Mélina Robert-Michon and Florent Manaudou, coach Christophe Massina, and wrestling referee Melanie Tran. The masked torchbearer made their final appearance at the opening ceremony. They gave the Olympic flame to Zinedine Zidane, who then handed it to Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal (beginning the final leg). He carried the flame up the Seine by boat along with other Olympic champions Carl Lewis and Serena Williams of the United States and Nadia Comăneci of Romania, while on the Trocadéro stage, Shaheem Sanchez, a deaf dancer, performed Cerrone's "Supernature" in French Sign Language, backdropped by an elaborate light show on the Eiffel Tower, focusing on the Olympic Rings. The boat docked near the Louvre, where tennis champion Amélie Mauresmo continued the relay with basketball player Tony Parker. They were joined by Paralympic champions Nantenin Keïta, Alexis Hanquinquant, and Marie-Amélie Le Fur, officially opening the twelfth and final sequence, Éternité (eternity).
The final leg culminated with Coste lighting the torches of Teddy Riner and Marie-José Pérec, who then lit the Olympic cauldron, a ring of 40 computerized LEDs and 200 high-pressure water aerosol spray dispensers which was topped by a 30-metre-tall helium sphere resembling a hot air balloon, rising in the air, reminiscent of the Montgolfier brothers' experiments leading to the first hot air balloon flight in 1783. The cauldron is attached to a wire-like conduit anchored in the middle of the Grand Bassin Rond (literally, "Large Round Basin") to avoid flying off; the conduit feeds the cauldron with water and electricity, and is pulled back to the ground during daytime. It is the first Olympic cauldron to light up without the direct use of fossil fuels.[67] The actual flame, meanwhile, was stored in a lantern nearby.
Epilogue
Céline Dion, accompanied by pianist and musical director Scott Price,[68] concluded the ceremony by singing Édith Piaf's "Hymne à l'amour" from the first floor of the Eiffel Tower,[69] bringing the ceremony to a close at 23:29 CEST.[18]
French singer Slimane performed his song "Mon Amour" at a pre-opening ceremony event in Saint-Denis which was broadcast on France 2.[70] As Slimane had cancelled a concert the day prior, some media outlets were unsure whether he would perform.[71]
American singer Lady Gaga was the first performer of the ceremony, performing a rendition of the song "Mon truc en plumes".[72] Even though her appearance had not been in the embargoed media guide distributed previous to the event, her participation had been heavily speculated due to her multiple appearances in Paris in the days before the ceremony.[10] Progressive metal act Gojira soon followed, becoming the first metal band to perform at an Olympic opening ceremony. The band, who were joined by opera singer Marina Viotti, performed the French Revolution-era song "Ça Ira" at the Conciergerie, a former prison where Marie Antoinette spent her final days.[72] A performer portraying a beheaded Antoinette began the performance.[73]Aya Nakamura soon followed with a performance of her songs "Pookie" and "Djadja" and "For me formidable" of Charles Aznavour on the Pont des Arts.[74][75]
Later in the night, as part of a fashion runway portion of the ceremony, various drag queens, including Nicky Doll and alumnae of the reality television series Drag Race France, recreated a bacchanalian feast.[76][77] Nicky Doll also performed "I Had a Dream" on the runway.[76] Shortly after, musician Philippe Katerine performed while covered in blue body paint and surrounded by fruit and flowers. While Katerine was depicting the Greek god Dionysus, some viewed him as similar to Belgian comic character Papa Smurf from the popular comic book franchise by Peyo, The Smurfs.[78]Juliette Armanet sang John Lennon's 1971 song "Imagine" while accompanied by Sofiane Pamart on piano, which was ablaze during the performance.[79]
The opening ceremony was filmed by host broadcaster Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), with OBS distributing a "world feed" for rights-holding broadcasters to use.[85] Over 120 cameras were used, with four camera boats fitted with specialised stabilisation equipment, seven drones and three helicopters.[86][85][87] The television production of the ceremony was directed by Simon Staffurth, who previously directed the Rio, Tokyo and Beijing opening ceremonies.[88][89] Following the ceremony, Jolly criticised OBS, stating they "missed a lot of moments”.[88]
The local organizing committee had expected around 120 world leaders would attend the ceremony, next to around 160 ministers.[107] In another report, the French government said that at least one hundred heads of state and government had accepted the invitation to the Games, but did not disclose any other details.[108]
According to a list from the Elysée, three hundred foreign dignitaries from 130 countries and organizations, including 85 heads of state and government, were at Paris for the ceremony.[109] President Macron and IOC president Bach hosted a reception and a Sports for Sustainable Development Summit with visiting dignitaries.[109]
The ceremony received mixed reviews, with most of its criticism directed towards its length and format, weather conditions, technical issues, and other aspects of the production itself, but with praise for its musical performances, themes of inclusivity, and its final acts (including the cauldron lighting and Céline Dion's closing performance).[179][180] 86% of French residents surveyed by the organizing committee considered the opening ceremony to have been "successful".[181][182]
Among France's newspapers of record, Le Monde considered it a "dream-like spectacle" that showcased a country that was "inclusive" and "unafraid of controversy",[183] while Libération described it as "imbued with inclusivity and self-deprecation", and hailed a "catharsis that was all the more welcome" after the stress of France's snap elections and "sublimated by the rain that turned into an artistic asset".[184] The conservativeLe Figaro described it as "a grandiose and sumptuous spectacle", but demonstrating that France "[can't] help drawing from its revolutionary guts the spirit of provocation and discord that has always fueled its paradoxes and divisions".[185] French right-wing newspapers and commentators were less impressed, and called it 'woke propaganda'.[186]
Writing for Time, Judy Berman felt that the ceremony was "occasionally weird, wildly ambitious, ultimately wonderful, and extremely French", and remarked that "the most enjoyable moments tended to be the strangest—and the most idiosyncratically French—ones. Dozens of dancers in hot pink doing the can-can? Fantastique. Marie Antoinette holding her freshly severed, singing head, as the introduction to a set piece that would pair opera singer Marina Viotti with French metal stalwarts Gojira? Vive la révolution."[187] Arifa Akbar of The Guardian described the ceremony as being "like a motley outfit thrown together. Water cannons, street dancers in Louis XIV outfits, and ultra-camp fashion shows which seemed like a crime against haute couture: it would not have looked out of place at Cannes' gaudy la Croisette." However, Akbar felt that the final act and cauldron lighting was more "dignified", and that "the ceremony could have done with so much more of this class."[180]
New York Times television critic Mike Hale considered the ceremony to be "quintessentially French: titillating, hermetic, light on humor and heavy on pretense", and praised the cauldron lighting and finale, but felt that the boat parade made the NBC telecast feel like a "bloated made-for-TV spectacle" akin to an awards show or holiday parade in comparison to past opening ceremonies.[188] The New Statesman compared the artistic segments to the Eurovision Song Contest, believing that the BBC's telecast needed a commentator such as Graham Norton "who could make sense of it all, or at least dryly mock that which they could not."[189] The inclusion of the Minions of the Despicable Me film franchise (characters who were created and voiced by the film's French director Pierre Coffin) were considered by U.S. critics as cross-promotion by the Olympics' local rights holder NBCUniversal (whose American studio Universal Pictures distributes the films), with Aramide Tinubu of Variety describing the scene as "both odd and off-putting".[190][191][192]
Viewership
According to Médiamétrie ratings, the opening ceremony was seen in France by an average of 23.2 million viewers, and peaking at 25.2 million, making it among the country's 10 most-watched television broadcasts of all time behind the 2022 FIFA World Cup final (24.08 million).[193] In the United States, NBC Sports reported that the opening ceremony was seen by 28.6 million viewers across its live broadcast and prime time encore, its highest viewership for any Olympic opening ceremony since 2014.[194] In Canada, the CBC also reported ratings improvements over Tokyo 2020, with 13.3 million viewing all or part of the broadcast across CBC Television and its sub-license partners.[195]
In contrast, the scene received praise from others for "celebrating queer visibility and LGBTQ+ inclusivity", according to American magazine Cosmopolitan.[209] Among those who expressed appreciation for the segment were American actress Jodie Sweetin, as well as Le Filip, a Croatian-French drag queen who won the third season of Drag Race France.[210]
In response to the criticism, the Paris 2024 producers stated that director Thomas Jolly "took inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting to create the setting", and cited that the painting had already been frequently parodied in popular culture.[54] However, the next day Jolly denied having been inspired by The Last Supper on BFM TV.[211][212] On 28 July, organizers issued an apology for the performance, stating that "there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group".[213] One of the participants in the scene, Barbara Butch, filed a legal complaint after what she described as "an extremely violent campaign of cyber-harassment and defamation" directed toward her after the ceremony.[214][215] Complaints have also been filed by Jolly,[216]Nicky Doll,[217] the choreographer,[218] the producers,[219] and the organizers.[220] French president Macron condemned the harassment;[221] he also defended the ceremony as a whole, stating that it had "made our compatriots extremely proud."[200]
The Olympic World Library later published the media guide (written before the ceremony) which mentioned it being a homage to cultural festivities.[89] According to Georgian fact checking website, Myth Detector, many experts had pointed out the differences between the fresco and the segment.[222]
Thomas Jolly, the director of the ceremony, stated that there was no "glorification of this instrument of death that was the guillotine" and that "If we use our work to regenerate [...] division, hatred [...] and it continues to progress, when I believe we have made some peace [...], then that would be great pity."[235]
Presence of Aya Nakamura
The presence of singer Aya Nakamura at the ceremony was criticized. Nakamura had faced racial abuse in the lead up to the event, such as the far-right group Les Natifs displaying a banner "There's no way Aya. This is Paris, not the Bamako market" on the basis of her roots in Mali.[236][237] According to an Odoxa[fr] poll prior to the event, 63% of French people disapproved of Nakamura performing at the Olympics.[238]
Introduction of South Korea as North Korea
During the parade of nations, the South Korean delegation was incorrectly addressed by the French and English announcers as République populaire démocratique de Corée and Democratic People's Republic of Korea–the official designation for North Korea–rather than République de Corée and Republic of Korea.[239][240] The International Olympic Committee posted an apology on their official website.[241]
Jang Mi-ran, Second Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated that it would submit an official protest over the accident, and that it had "asked the foreign ministry to lodge a strong complaint with France on a government level", asked the IOC to arrange a meeting with President Bach regarding this incident, and asked the Paris organizing committee to ensure that this would not reoccur.[242]
↑ In the video, Zidane enters the Métropolitain through entrance 3 of the Porte Dauphine station, the only original Métro entrance designed by Hector Guimard in 1900 with preserved wall panels, and the only one with a canopy that remains in its original location.
The Seine is a 777-kilometre-long (483 mi) river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, 30 kilometres (19 mi) northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre. It is navigable by ocean-going vessels as far as Rouen, 120 kilometres (75 mi) from the sea. Over 60 percent of its length, as far as Burgundy, is negotiable by large barges and most tour boats, and nearly its whole length is available for recreational boating; excursion boats offer sightseeing tours of the river banks in the capital city, Paris.
The 2024 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held from 26 July to 11 August 2024 in France, with several events started from 24 July. Paris was the host city, with events held in 16 additional cities spread across metropolitan France, including the sailing centre in the second-largest city of France, Marseille, on the Mediterranean Sea, as well as one subsite for surfing in Tahiti, French Polynesia.
Colombia competed in the Winter Olympic Games for the first time at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.
The 2024 Summer Paralympics, also known as the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, and branded as Paris 2024, were the 17th Summer Paralympic Games, an international multi-sport parasports event governed by the International Paralympic Committee. The Games were held in Paris, France, from 28 August to 8 September 2024, and featured 549 medal events across 22 sports. These games marked the first time Paris hosted the Summer Paralympics and the second time France hosted the Paralympic Games, following the 1992 Winter Paralympics in Tignes and Albertville. France also hosted the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Aya Coco Danioko, known professionally as Aya Nakamura, is a French-Malian singer-songwriter. She began publishing her music online, gaining a following with the songs "Karma" and "J'ai mal". Dembo Camara, a longtime friend, became her producer and manager. Her song "Brisé" garnered traction on YouTube, and a duet with rapper Fababy, "Love d'un voyou", resulted in her charting in France for the first time. She released her debut album, Journal intime, in 2017, followed in 2018 by Nakamura, which was certified diamond in France and has sold more than 1.2 million copies worldwide. The album spawned the hit singles "Djadja" and "Copines" and launched the singer's international career. The same year, she beat the record held by Édith Piaf since 1961 as the most-listened-to French-speaking female artist in the Netherlands.
Events from the year 2017 in France.
The closing ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics took place at the Stade de France on 11 August 2024.
Gilles Boyer is a French politician of the Horizons party. He has served as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019 and was re-elected in 2024.
The Paris Organising Committee for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games (COJOP2024) is the organising committee for the 2024 Summer Olympics and the 2024 Summer Paralympics which were held in Paris, France. Tony Estanguet serves as president of the committee. Étienne Thobois serves as director general. The committee was established on 18 January 2018.
Leslie Barbara Butch is a French disc jockey and lesbian activist. She campaigns for fat acceptance and has made the short film Extra Large. She was awarded the Out d'or 2021 "personnalité LGBTI de l'année" by the French Association of LGBTI Journalists. In 2024, she was featured in the 2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, which was criticized as controversial due to a perceived mockery of Christianity.
The Parade of Nations within the 2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony took place on 26 July 2024 on the Seine river in Paris, France. Athletes and officials from each participating team marched into the Jardins du Trocadéro preceded by their flag and placard bearer. Each flag bearer was chosen either by the team's National Olympic Committee or by the athletes themselves. On 13 December 2021, it was announced that the opening ceremony would feature athletes being transported by boat from Pont d'Austerlitz to Pont d'Iéna along the Seine river. The 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) route passed landmarks such as the Louvre, Notre-Dame de Paris, and Place de la Concorde, and feature cultural presentations. The official protocol took place at a 30,000-seat "mini-stadium" at the Trocadéro. For the first time in Olympic history, the parade procedure was not held during a separate portion of the opening ceremony, with the parade being integrated during the artistic programme, which simultaneously allowed for the athletes to sail on their boats during the artistic portion.
Events in the year 2024 in France.
Thomas Jolly is a French actor and artistic director of La Piccola Familia, a theatre company that he founded in Rouen in 2006.
Transportation during the 2024 Summer Olympics and 2024 Summer Paralympics played a critical part in getting spectators and athletes to competition venues. Over €500 million had been invested in transport improvements for the Games. A stated goal of Paris 2024 was to halve the carbon footprint of the Olympic and Paralympic Games compared with London 2012 and Rio 2016. The organisers estimated that more than a third of the greenhouse gas emissions linked to the Olympic Games would be from the transport of athletes and spectators. To meet the stated goal, all venues were made accessible by bicycle and public transport. Train lines were extended and improved, and services increased. Some 415 kilometres (258 mi) of cycle paths were created that linked the major venues and 10,000 temporary bicycle racks were installed.
Axelle Saint-Cirel is a French mezzo-soprano.
The Feast of the Gods is a painting by the Dutch painter Jan van Bijlert, created around 1635–1640. It is in the Musée Magnin in Dijon, France.
There have been multiple instances in which drag has been featured as part of the Olympic Games. The closing ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney included dozens of drag performers to commemorate The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert as part of a tribute to the cinema of Australia. Leading up to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Nicky Doll and two other drag queens participated in the torch relay, and Nymphia Wind performed at the Cultural Olympiad. Nicky Doll, Paloma, Piche, Kam Hugh, and other drag performers were featured in the opening ceremony.
The opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Paralympics took place on the evening of 28 August 2024 at the Place de la Concorde in Paris. It was the first time that a Paralympic Games opening ceremony was held outside of a stadium. Like the 2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, this event was directed by Alexander Ekman. The ceremony was themed around the human body and "history and its paradoxes", and featured more than 500 dancers and performers. Unlike the Olympics opening ceremony, which took place mostly under rain, the weather was clear and sunny with a view of sunset during the ceremony.
The closing ceremony of the 2024 Summer Paralympics took place at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France, on 8 September 2024.
1 2 3 Kaloi, Stephanie (28 July 2024). "Paris Olympics Producers Say 'The Last Supper' Inspired That Opening Ceremony Scene: 'Many Have Done It Before'". TheWrap. Retrieved 29 July 2024. Many, including Jolly and the official Olympics Games X account, said that the scene is an 'interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus' that 'makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings.' Others, including a statement from Paris 2024 producers obtained by TheWrap Sunday, said that it was in fact inspired by Da Vinci's famous painting — a skewing of the religious imagery that has been slammed by Christians as a mockery of Jesus Christ. 'For the "Festivities" segment, Thomas Jolly took inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting to create the setting,' producers said in the statement.
↑ McElwee, Joshua (3 August 2024). "Vatican saddened by Olympic ceremony skit resembling 'Last Supper'". Reuters. Retrieved 5 August 2024. The Holy See was saddened by certain scenes at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games and cannot but join the voices raised in recent days to deplore the offence done to many Christians and believers of other religions," it said in an unusual weekend evening press release issued in French.
↑ Yoo, Jee-ho (27 July 2024). "(2nd LD) (Olympics) 'Games Wide Open': 33rd Summer Olympic Games kick off in Paris". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 27 July 2024. As the boat carrying the delegation came into view, the French-speaking announcer said, "Republique populaire democratique de Coree," and the English-speaking announcer followed with "Democratic People's Republic of Korea," the official designation of North Korea.
↑ Jeon, Yeong-ji (27 July 2024). ""대한민국이 북조선인민공화국(DPRK)이라고?" 초황당 파리올림픽 개회식→문체부X체육회 적극 대응[파리live]". Sports Chosun (in Korean). Retrieved 27 July 2024. 대한민국을 DPRK로 소개한 장내 아나운서의 치명적인 실수에 새벽 TV로 개회식을 지켜보던 국민들이 경악했다. 남성 아나운서가 한국을 프랑스어로 'Republique populaire democratique de coree'로 소개한 후 여성 아나운서가 영어로 'Democratic People's Republic of Korea'라고 반복해 소개했다.
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