PARIS (Reuters): French President Emmanuel Macron declared the Olympic Games open after a soaking wet ceremony in which athletes were cheered by the crowd along the Seine, dancers took to the roofs of Paris and Lady Gaga sang a French cabaret song.
France’s three-time Olympic gold medallists Marie-Jose Perec and Teddy Riner then lit the Olympic cauldron, suspended on a hot-air balloon, before Canada’s Celine Dion sang Edith Piaf’s “Hymn to Love”, in her first public performance in years, drawing huge cheers from the crowd.
The 30-metre (98 ft) high balloon carrying a 7-metre diametre ring of fire took to the air and was hovering dozens of metres above the ground.
It will be in the air from sunset until 2 am local time every day, organisers said.
“We are so proud of this show, I’m so proud that sport and culture were celebrated in such a fantastic manner tonight, it was a first and the result was fantastic despite the rain,” Paris 2024 organising president Tony Estanguet told reporters.
It was the first time that an opening ceremony has taken place outside a stadium, adding to the headaches for a vast security operation, just hours after a sabotage attack on the high-speed TGV rail network caused travel chaos across France.
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