https://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/articles/cw4yepmknkpo
The opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games has ended in Paris. For the first time, the ceremony was held not at a stadium, but in the very center of the city. The Olympic teams of the world sailed in a parade along the Seine River on boats. About 300 thousand spectators watched this event.
A spectacular part of the event was a breathtaking laser show around and inside the Eiffel Tower.
At the end of the ceremony, a group of famous athletes, including Zinedine Zidane and Rafael Nadal, brought the Olympic torch to the structure installed near the Louvre. A hot air balloon was installed above it, and when the flame was lit, the balloon rose into the night sky.
The ceremony was led by Thomas Jolly. First, the flotilla carried more than 10 thousand athletes - participants of the Olympics, representing 206 teams (national teams, refugees and neutral athletes) along a 6-kilometer route. The boats sailed past the city's most famous bridges and landmarks, including Notre Dame Cathedral and the Eiffel Tower.
A pleasant surprise at the end of the ceremony was a performance by Canadian star Celine Dion, singing in French and English. At the opening of the Games, she sang Edith Piaf's Hymne A L'Amour in a dazzling white dress. Her performance may mark a return to the stage for Dion, who canceled her appearances after being diagnosed with a rare neurological disease in 2022.
Lady Gaga performed the first musical number of the ceremony, accompanied by a group of dancers and a small orchestra. Both stars were spotted in Paris earlier this week.
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