The Paris 2024 Organize Committee said about 10,500 athletes will take part in the opening ceremony and 80 giant screens along the route will offer intimate close-ups of the athletes and artists.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach addresses the crowd
“You have come to Paris as athletes, now you are Olympians. Now, we are all part of an event that unites the world,” Bach said.
“There is no Global South or Global North. We all respect each other. We all care for each other. We live in solidarity with each other.
“In a world torn apart by wars and conflicts, it is through this Olympics that we can all come together.”
A light show focused on the tower, and beamed from within the giant structure, in a spectacular display.
The organisers of the Opening Ceremony were determined to make the Paris 2024 event a unique spectacle and they certainly did that.
The celebration of the city was the desire, rather than the traditional focus on the Olympic Stadium.
The red carpet, the Seine setting and the elevated Cauldron to finish were all firsts for the Olympics.
It has certainly set a new precedent for the games going forward, having expanded beyond a stadium to a huge part of one of the world’s biggest cities.
The Canadian singer, born in Quebec, takes to the mic below the Eiffel Tower as attention returns to the Trocadero.
The torch will light a Cauldron that sits below a hot-air balloon.
The flames are seven metres wide.
The final torchbearers are French former sprinter Marie-Jose Perec and French judoka Teddy Riner, who arrive to light the Olympic Cauldron.
The torchbearers, French former sprinter Marie-Jose Perec and French judoka Teddy Riner, arrive to light the Olympic Cauldron during the Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
Where do the 10,500 athletes go when they get off the boats?
The next part of the Opening Ceremony involves the athlete delegations disembarking off the boats and walking to the Trocadero Gardens, situated right next to the famous Eiffel Tower.
Some of the early nations have already arrived there for the final act of the Opening Ceremony.
