{"id":102843,"date":"2024-07-27T02:33:20","date_gmt":"2024-07-27T02:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/27\/paris-olympics-opening-ceremony-a-daring-vision-for-a-city-on-edge-and-a-test-of-endurance-for-viewers\/"},"modified":"2024-07-27T02:33:20","modified_gmt":"2024-07-27T02:33:20","slug":"paris-olympics-opening-ceremony-a-daring-vision-for-a-city-on-edge-and-a-test-of-endurance-for-viewers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/27\/paris-olympics-opening-ceremony-a-daring-vision-for-a-city-on-edge-and-a-test-of-endurance-for-viewers\/","title":{"rendered":"Paris Olympics opening ceremony: A daring vision for a city on edge – and a test of endurance for viewers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Paris<\/div>


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Athletes floating by were immersed in a journey through French culture and values.<\/p>\n

An Olympic <\/a><\/strong>city’s landmarks took centre stage like never before in an opening ceremony.<\/p>\n

All while projecting Paris as a hub of creativity, technological innovation and revolutionary zeal from the past to the present.<\/p>\n

This was a daring vision delivered in the most testing of conditions.<\/p>\n

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<\/div>
\n Image:<\/span>
\n The France Olympic team. Pic: PA
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Terror fears forced a scaling back of the audiences allowed by the River Seine to see an ambitious show spread across a 4-mile route.<\/p>\n

And a downpour saw many spectators flee the rain before the show was complete with vantage points of the spectacle already limited by security forces.<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/strong>
What your rights are if you can’t travel to Paris Olympics<\/a><\/strong>
The biggest security threats facing the Olympics<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Moving away from the usual stadium setting with an 85-boat flotilla gave new energy to the athlete parade with flagbearers on barges.<\/p>\n

But it was a test of endurance for viewers at home and those soaked on the ground.<\/p>\n

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\n \"Smoke\n <\/div>
\n Image:<\/span>
\n Smoke clouds in the tricolours of the France flag are seen at Pont d’Austerlitz. Pic: Reuters
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\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

It took almost four hours for this elaborate and unique production to provide the most unexpected moments.<\/p>\n

Even the appearance of Lady Gaga singing was less of a surprise once she was spotted here this week and the performance – in French of Mon Truc En Plumes in a tribute to Zizi Jeanmaire – was recorded before the delegations were even on the water.<\/p>\n

Cabaret elements were predictable while still slickly produced with a Moulin Rouge can-can dance.<\/p>\n

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\n \"Overview\n <\/div>
\n Image:<\/span>
\n Overview of the Trocadero venue as the delegations arrive. Pic: Reuters
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Official camera angles carefully avoided showing empty riverbanks. And a downside to staging such a sprawling show across a capital like this is for those on the ground most of the creative endeavour was unseen.<\/p>\n

Even dignitaries in the grandstands were not spared a drenching at the Trocadero and reliant on big screens to see the most eye-catching elements as an unidentified torch bearer darted across rooftops and reached a rebuilt Notre Dame.<\/p>\n

But the VIPs could – if glancing into the distance – see Celine Dion rounding off the show under the Eiffel Tower<\/a><\/strong> with her first live performance since being diagnosed with a neurological disorder in 2022.<\/p>\n

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\n \"Celine\n <\/div>
\n Image:<\/span>
\n Celine Dion performed on the Eiffel Tower. Pic: Reuters
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\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

And just before, there was no audience nearby to see it all build up to the moment kept truly secret after so much anticipation.<\/p>\n

Who would light the cauldron? And where would it be?<\/p>\n

A torch relay that began in April with the lighting at ancient Olympia saw Zinedine Zidane, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal among the sporting greats carrying the flame to the finish.<\/p>\n

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\n \"The\n <\/div>
\n Image:<\/span>
\n The Olympic cauldron is seen after being lit. Pic: Reuters
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\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

There was 100-year-old Charles Coste – an Olympian cycling champion for France at the 1948 London Games.<\/p>\n

Then the honour of lighting the cauldron fell to greats of French sport – Teddy Riner (judo) and Marie-Jose Perec (athletics).<\/p>\n

And no one could have predicted what came next. One final first in such a unique opening ceremony.<\/p>\n

These games won’t see a cauldron sitting statically for the next 16 days.<\/p>\n

Instead it will float above the skies of Paris after a ring of fire was carried into the sky – a tribute to the first gas balloon flight on the same site at the Tuileries Garden 241 years ago.<\/p>\n

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Organisers will be hoping it burns brightly throughout a games intended to spark new life into the Olympics after the pandemic but in a world torn apart by conflicts.<\/p>\n

Some booing of the Israeli delegation was a reminder of the divisions hanging over Paris 2024.<\/p>\n

But IOC president Thomas Bach told athletes: “Now we are part of an event that unites the world in peace.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

One glitch in the opening ceremony was the five-ring Olympic flag being flown upside down opposite the Eiffel Tower.<\/p>\n

It could look like an unintended distress call as the games begin under the cloud of doping scandals, sabotage on rail lines and terror fears that stalk Paris.<\/p>\n

But a city on edge managed to stage the biggest open-air stage show before a sports event.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Athletes floating by were immersed in a journey through French culture and values. An Olympic city’s landmarks took centre stage like never before in an opening ceremony. All while projecting Paris as a hub of creativity, technological innovation and revolutionary zeal from the past to the present. This was a daring vision delivered in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":102844,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/24\/07\/768x432\/skynews-france-olympic-s-olympics_6640361.jpg?20240726205657","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[335,122,2323,1105,85890,4988,2024,4987,848,81462,5172],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102843"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102843"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102843\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102845,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102843\/revisions\/102845"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}