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.
A lack of rain at the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics, which was the first in over 70 years, did not appear to dampen the participants’ excitement. In an exhibition of the city’s resiliency, some people rode boats down the river while holding umbrellas while authorities looked into possible sabotage attempts against France’s high-speed train system.
The weather and widespread travel problems caused by what French officials described as organized arson assaults on high-speed rail lines had soured sentiment prior to the ceremony. Even so, spectators packed the banks and bridges above the Seine, standing on balconies and oohing and aahing as Olympic teams paraded down the rough waterway as the weather deepened.
Still, crowds crammed the Seine’s banks and bridges and watched from balconies, “oohing” and “aahing” as Olympic teams paraded in boats down the waterway that got increasingly choppy as the weather worsened.
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 out to sing her hit “Djadja” accompanied by a Republican guard band of the French army.
India’s most experienced paddler Sharath Kamal and ace shuttler and two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu were the country’s flag bearers. The Indian contingent arrived in traditional attire in a boat along with Indonesian participants.
In between the crowd was enthralled by spectacular dance and musical performances, which included the performance by Celine Dion and Lady Gaga.
Two-time Olympic medallist shuttler PV Sindhu and five-time Olympian Sharath Kamal were India’s flag-bearers at the marquee opening ceremony, leading the 117-athlete strong contingent for the Games. However, India did kickstart the Olympics campaign a day before the opening ceremony with archery ranking rounds, where both men’s and women’s teams qualified for the quarter-finals.
In the previous edition of the Games, India finished with its best-ever medal tally of 7, which included javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra’s coveted gold medal. Expectations, hence, will be high from the Indian contingent to better the previous mark, with medal contenders like Neeraj (athletics), Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty (badminton), Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain (Boxing), Vinesh Phogat (wrestling), and the Indian men’s hockey team, among others, aiming to put their best foot forward.
