The Paris Olympics Grandly Open on the Seine River | WPN World People News

The Paris Olympics has officially commenced, marking the first time in Olympic history that the opening ceremony is held in an open venue. This year, the traditional method of athletes marching into the stadium was replaced by delegations appearing on boats along the Seine River. The opening ceremony fused French artistic performances, with highlights including spectacular performances by Lady Gaga and Celine Dion.

A total of 39 members of the Chinese Taipei delegation participated, with badminton star Tai Tzu-Ying and breakdancer B-Boy Sunny serving as flag bearers. Taiwanese athletes wore ocean blue suits designed by Taiwanese designer Chou Yu-Ying, which were featured in Forbes' top ten Olympic uniform designs. They embarked on the 74th boat in the parade. Although they competed under the name Chinese Taipei, they entered in alphabetical order under "T," alongside countries like Tajikistan, Tanzania, and Chad. During the introduction of the Taiwanese delegation, the France 2 television host remarked, "Chinese Taipei, known to us as Taiwan." Athletes passed by famous landmarks such as the Louvre and Notre-Dame Cathedral before heading to the Trocadéro Gardens for the grand opening ceremony.

Following the Bahrain delegation's entrance, Lady Gaga appeared on the banks of the Seine River, singing the French song "La Vie en rose," dancing, and playing the piano. She concluded with "Bonsoir, bienvenue à Paris!" officially opening the Paris Olympics.

During the opening ceremony, the Olympic flame made its way towards its final destination at the Tuileries Garden. French football legend Zinedine Zidane handed the torch to Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal. The 100-year-old Charles Coste, France's oldest Olympic gold medalist, passed the torch to French judo champion Teddy Riner and track and field star Marie-José Pérec, who lit the cauldron under a 30-meter-high hot air balloon. The hot air balloon's ascent symbolized a tribute to the first hydrogen balloon flight.

The opening performance included athlete parades and classic works such as "Les Misérables," "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame," and "Carmen." The popular animated characters, the Minions, also made an appearance, with a video showing the Minions as athletes and attempting to steal the "Mona Lisa," eliciting laughter from the audience.

As the hot air balloon-shaped cauldron slowly ascended, Celine Dion, who has publicly disclosed her battle with Stiff Person Syndrome and has not appeared publicly for nearly two years, performed "Hymne à l'amour" by Edith Piaf from the Eiffel Tower. This was her first Olympic performance since the 1996 Atlanta Games.

The Paris Olympics will take place from July 26 to August 11, 2024. This marks the first time in 100 years that Paris is hosting the event again and makes it the second city, after London, to host the Olympics three times. Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, athletes from Russia and Belarus can only compete as neutral individuals and are barred from participating in the opening and closing ceremonies.