Paris stunned the world with mesmerising scenes at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics 2024 at the Seine River on Friday, July 26. The organising committee delivered a memorable event which started with an unprecedented Parade of Nations and ended with the legendary footballer Zinedine Zidane lighting the Olympic torch.
Paris displayed their culture and history throughout the event on the banks of the Seine. Over 7,500 athletes representing 204 nations participated in the Parade of Nations as the crowd gathered in numbers to witness a historic event.
The event started with a pre-recorded video of Zidane carrying the flaming torch on the Paris streets. Then the Greece contingent, the first-ever Olympics hosts, made a stunning entry on a boat to begin the parade followed by a musical performance from the American pop singer Lady Gaga.
The Indian contingent was slotted 84th among 205 teams at the Parade of Nations. Flagbearers PV Sindhu and Sharath Kamal led the 78-member Indian contingent with the crowd cheering loudly for the athletes. Some star athletes like Neeraj Chopra and Rafael Nadal missed the parade due to various reasons.
The United States of America's contingent, the most successful team in tournament history, arrived the second last. The returning basketball legend LeBron James and the rising tennis star Coco Gauff led the USA's contingent. As a host nation, the French team was the last to make an entry with the crowd cheering big for their home heroes.
After the Parade of Nations, the event organisers revealed the traditional flag event on a metallic horse rising at the Seine River. The horsewomen travelled 22 km to reach the final destination - the Eiffel Tower where the Olympic Anthem took place.
The memorable night concluded with the historic Olympic torchlightening event. The legendary Zindane emerged with a famous torch and then handed it over to Spanish tennis veteran Rafael Nadal, the two-time Olympic medalist and 22-time Grand Slam winner.
Nadal was joined by the four-time Olympic gold medalist Serena Williams, the legendary Olympian Carl Lewis and the Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci who carried the torch on a boat throughout the city and then handed it to French tennis legend and Olympic medalist Amelie Mauresmo who carried the torch on Paris streets.
The legendary French Olympic medalists Teddy Pierre-Marie Riner and Marie-José Pérec were the final torchbearers who lit up the traditional Olympic Cauldron - the air balloon and concluded a historic event in Paris.
