- The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics 2024 was the first to be held outside a stadium
- Lebron James and other iconic celebrities marked attendance at the City of Light
- About 600,000 people gathered around the city’s river for the spectacle, which opened the historic tournament
After much anticipation and colourful buildup, the Olympics event officially kickstarted on Friday night, July 26, where hundreds of thousands of attendees were present to witness the glamorous ceremony in Paris, the City of Light.
The spectators did not have the best evening at the beginning of the ceremony as heavy rain showered from the sky, but thankfully, the weather improved after about an hour. A good number of celebrities graced the beautiful occasion, including Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, Serena Williams, Lebron James, and many more.
Below are five notable takeaways from the opening ceremony.
5 notable takeaways from Paris Olympics opening ceremony
1. First of its kind, the opening ceremony was held beside the river Seine
For the first time in its 128-year modern history, the Olympic's opening ceremony was not staged inside a stadium. The sporting games event opened on Friday night as spectators lined up by the city’s river to grace the beautiful occasion. The event organisers earlier assured that the ceremony would be “daring and joyful,” and they certainly matched the expectations of attendees with the beautiful lighting and the exciting parade of athletes through the heart of the Seine River.
2. Not the best of evenings as rain tries to take the spotlight
On Friday morning, the rain had rolled through the clouds. While many had expected it to pour down and wrap up its display in a swift fashion, the rain remarkably made a highlight of the night as it made its way down from the clouds only 30 minutes into the event. It seemed as though hundreds of thousands of spectators came ready for the downpour as umbrellas were seen hastily flying above their heads. The umbrellas and raincoats were, however, no match for the heavy rain as people sought covered areas to stay under.
3. Iconic entertainers and athletes mark attendance
The entertainment industry featured several of its stars to honour the memorable event, and sports celebrities also had a decent guest count, many of which include Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, Arian
a Grande, Snoop Dogg, Serena Williams, Shaun White, and Lebron James, among others. Iconic singer Celine Dion was a major highlight of the event as she made a return to performing after battling with stiff bone syndrome over the last four years.
4. Zambia and Zimbabwe come before Australia in alphabetical order for the first time.
Some spectators were surprisingly confused as Australia came behind Zambia and Zimbabwe in the 85-country boat parade. However, it is tradition that countries confirmed to hold subsequent Olympic games should come last during the opening parade ceremony. The USA and Australia will hold the next series of Olympic events in 2028 and 2032, respectively.
5. The popular city of Paris pulls large crowds as the sporting event officially goes underway
About 100 heads of state and government and more than 500,000 spectators lined by the river Seine last night to grace the opening of the Olympics 2024 in the city of Paris, of which around 104,000 had to buy tickets and a further 250,000 got invitations, this tally certainly does not include those that accessed complimentary viewpoints just along the way. It was indeed a memorable event as the river Seine turned into a sporting location.
Paris 2024 Olympics: 5 takeaways from Nigeria vs Brazil match
Previously, TheRadar reported that Nigeria’s Super Falcons were edged out 1-0 by the Brazilian Canarinhas in a difficult match contest after a return to the Olympics event for the first time in 16 years.
Standout performers in the thrilling contest were Nigeria’s Falcon captain, Ajibade Rasheedat, and Brazil’s agile forward, Gabby Nunes. The latter scored the only goal of the match in the 36th minute.
