The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris was a spectacle.
Image: IMAGO/Sports Press Photo
The organizers spared no expense.
Image: IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire
A heavy metal band put on a show in this government building.
Image: IMAGO/Xinhua
Nino Schurter and Nina Christen with the Swiss flag.
Image: IMAGO/Xinhua
The Swiss Olympians wave from the boat.
Image: Keystone
The boat of the Swiss delegation.
Image: IMAGO/Xinhua
Swiss sympathizers are also among the spectators on the balconies.
Image: Keystone
Lots of dancing in many colors.
Image: IMAGO/Kyodo News
The French delegation was introduced at the end.
Image: IMAGO/Kyodo News
Glimmer was also part of the opening ceremony.
Image: IMAGO/ABACAPRESS
Zinédine Zidane with the torch.
Image: IMAGO/Xinhua
The Eiffel Tower was spectacularly staged.
Image: IMAGO/Kyodo News
A light show in a class of its own.
Image: IMAGO/AAP
The Eiffel Tower will be emblazoned with the five Olympic rings over the next few days.
Image: Keystone
The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris are officially open.
Image: Keystone
Great Britain's boat on its way to the Eiffel Tower.
Image: Keystone
Rain in Paris: only the weather is not playing ball.
Image: Keystone
The athletes from the 206 participating nations are led across the Seine on boats.
Image: Keystone
French President Emmanuel Macron officially declares the Games open at 10.54 pm.
Image: Keystone
The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris was a spectacle.
Image: IMAGO/Sports Press Photo
The organizers spared no expense.
Image: IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire
A heavy metal band put on a show in this government building.
Image: IMAGO/Xinhua
Nino Schurter and Nina Christen with the Swiss flag.
Image: IMAGO/Xinhua
The Swiss Olympians wave from the boat.
Image: Keystone
The boat of the Swiss delegation.
Image: IMAGO/Xinhua
Swiss sympathizers are also among the spectators on the balconies.
Image: Keystone
Lots of dancing in many colors.
Image: IMAGO/Kyodo News
The French delegation was introduced at the end.
Image: IMAGO/Kyodo News
Glimmer was also part of the opening ceremony.
Image: IMAGO/ABACAPRESS
Zinédine Zidane with the torch.
Image: IMAGO/Xinhua
The Eiffel Tower was spectacularly staged.
Image: IMAGO/Kyodo News
A light show in a class of its own.
Image: IMAGO/AAP
The Eiffel Tower will be emblazoned with the five Olympic rings over the next few days.
Image: Keystone
The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris are officially open.
Image: Keystone
Great Britain's boat on its way to the Eiffel Tower.
Image: Keystone
Rain in Paris: only the weather is not playing ball.
Image: Keystone
The athletes from the 206 participating nations are led across the Seine on boats.
Image: Keystone
French President Emmanuel Macron officially declares the Games open at 10.54 pm.
Image: Keystone
The 2024 Olympic Games are officially opened in Paris at the end of a unique opening ceremony. Without the luck of the weather, France nevertheless presented itself with a lot of flair at the boat parade on the Seine.
Nino Schurter had to let himself be surprised. "I don't know exactly what to expect," said the mountain biker from Graubünden one day before the opening ceremony. He had the honor of carrying the Swiss flag down the Seine together with shooter Nina Christen. However, his words could just as easily apply to the opening ceremony and the entire Olympic Games in Paris.
Uncertainty about the security situation. Uncertainty about the political climate. Uncertainties about the extremely daring, first opening ceremony outside a stadium. The organizers were not lucky with the weather. Rain accompanied the 85 boats with the delegations on Friday evening as they sailed down the Seine from the Austerlitz Bridge to the Eiffel Tower.
And yet the spectacular but risky undertaking succeeded. Around 320,000 onlookers - around two thirds with free admission - on the banks of the river naturally formed the biggest backdrop for an opening ceremony. They had to go through a strict security procedure, needed some patience and sat for a long time in the increasingly heavy rain, but they were rewarded with an atmospheric spectacle with a star-studded line-up.
French Revolution and Lady Gaga
The French presented themselves in all their cultural diversity. While Schurter and Christen rode past with almost 30 Swiss athletes and 205 other delegations, ballet dancers, pop stars, musical performers and break dancers presented motifs from the long history of the "Grande Nation" on solid ground. Special treats: Singer Céline Dion, who suffers from stiff person syndrome, interpreted "L'Hymne à l'amour" by French chanson icon Édith Piaf. Opera singer Marina Viotti sang to the brute sounds of heavy metal band Gojira, and Lady Gaga sang a chanson on the steps in front of Notre Dame Cathedral.
Impressive: due to the great secrecy and complexity of the production, it could never be rehearsed beforehand. "Ca ira", a slogan from the French Revolution, was the motto. "It will work." And it did, anything but naturally under difficult circumstances, and impressively so.
Orange Swiss boat
The boats set off alphabetically - according to the French country name - which is why the Germans (Allemagne), for example, set off unusually early. The refugee team, accompanied by much applause, was the second to set off, with the European 10,000-meter champion Dominic Lobalu, who now competes for Switzerland outside of the Olympics, waving from the boat.
The stately, suitably orange-painted boat with the Swiss set sail at 8.26 p.m., did a lap of honor and then took around an hour to cover the six kilometers. Nino Schurter and Nina Christen enthusiastically waved the Swiss flag while the soaked team members danced in the rain.
Games officially opened at 22.54
Switzerland was also present on the red carpet, where deserving Olympians such as Serena Williams and Fabian Cancellara were honored. At exactly 10.54 pm, French President Emmanuel Macron officially opened the 30th Summer Games in the presence of IOC President Thomas Bach.
Over the next 16 days, a total of 329 medal sets will now be contested. Uncertainty will remain for a while yet, but at least the first gamble by the "Grande Nation" has paid off.
