Paris Olympics Return After 100 Years... Spectacular Global Festival Opens on the Seine River [Paris Olympics]

85 Ships Cross the Seine River... Korea Enters 48th
17-Day Journey Begins

The 2024 Paris Olympics, reopening after 100 years, officially commenced at 2:30 AM Korean time on the 27th.

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

For the first time in the 128-year history of the Olympics, the opening ceremony was held outdoors instead of inside a stadium. Over 17 days until the 11th of next month, more than 10,500 athletes from 206 countries will compete beautifully for 329 gold medals across 32 events.

The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics is being held on the Seine River on the 26th. [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

The prologue video announcing the opening ceremony began with a torchbearer entering an empty stadium looking confused as they prepared for the lighting of the Olympic flame. Soon after, a news clip revealed that this Olympic opening ceremony would take place not in a stadium but on the Seine River. Then, French football hero Zinedine Zidane, who led France to victory in the 1998 World Cup, appeared to receive the torch and ran through the streets of Paris before boarding the subway. When the subway stopped, he passed the flame to children.

The children who received the torch from Zidane arrived by boat at the Trocad?ro Square. A variety of videos paying homage to films set in Paris were shown, followed by the introduction of dignitaries including French President Emmanuel Macron and Thomas Bach, President of the IOC (International Olympic Committee).

On the 26th, the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics is being held on the Seine River. Photo by AFP

The water parade began with a boat carrying the Greek delegation, the birthplace of the Olympics, departing first from the Ostrobride Bridge. The refugee team followed. Yahya Al-Ghutani from Syria entered carrying the Olympic flag on behalf of the refugees.

Following the French alphabetical order of the host country, delegations from Afghanistan, South Africa, Albania, Algeria, and Germany appeared on boats.

Korea entered after the Cook Islands, the 47th country, with the country name displayed as 'Cor?e' in French, not 'Korea.' High jumper Woo Sang-hyeok and swimmer Kim Seo-young served as flag bearers, and about 50 athletes attended the opening ceremony.

The boats carrying the athletes departed from the Ostrobride Bridge near the Paris Botanical Garden, passing famous Paris landmarks such as Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Louvre Museum, the Orsay Museum, and Concorde Square, crossing a 6 km course to Trocad?ro Square near the Eiffel Tower.

In Paris, heavy rain continued from the morning, raising concerns about disruptions to the opening ceremony, but the rain stopped by the afternoon and cloudy weather prevailed.

On the 26th (local time), as rain fell at the opening ceremony venue set up at Trocadero Square in Paris, France, the audience waited for the opening ceremony wearing umbrellas and raincoats. [Image source=Yonhap News]

However, about two hours before the opening ceremony, rain poured again, creating a chaotic atmosphere as the Paris Olympics opening event began.

The opening ceremony, directed by French actor and artistic director Thoma Jolly, was composed of 12 sections. With the message of 'love,' about 3,000 performers filled the stage.