Stunning images: Paris 2024, the opening ceremony everyone talks about

It was dramatic, celebratory, artful, and... all over the place, literally and figuratively. The Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics was like nothing we'd ever seen before.

For the first time in Olympic history, the opening ceremony took place outside of a stadium and in various locations across the city.

Central to all of it was the river Seine, where the athletes arrived by boat.

More than 10,000 athletes from 206 countries participate in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. Among them are the biggest stars, like basketball hero LeBron James.

Tennis legend Serena Williams is not playing anymore but took part in the ceremony by carrying the torch from one point on the Seine to another. She looked gorgeous in bright red.

Meanwhile, on one of the boats, Team UK re-enacted a scene from 'Titanic'. "I'm the King of the World!" flagbearer Thomas Daley must have shouted as he impersonated Leonardo DiCaprio's character in the movie.

Of course, the British flagbearers were hinting at one of the big stars who would be performing that night: Céline Dion, the Canadian singer of the 'Titanic' anthem 'My Heart Will Go On'.

But long before we got to see Céline Dion, the Olympics first presented another superstar: Lady Gaga, Paris-style!

"Bonsoir! Bienvenue à Paris!" That's how she opened her impressive cabaret-style performance of the song 'Mon Truc en Plume,' a famous French revue anthem by Zizi Jeanmarie.

Despite the presence of several international stars, like rapper Snoop Dogg who carried the torch through Paris for a stretch, the opening ceremony was to be Very French.

The banks of the Seine witnessed all of France's history and culture, with choirs, rockers, and dancers honoring French novelists, revolutionaries, great women, and more.

Ooh la la! These parts of the ceremony were controversial 

A mysterious torchbearer visited the monuments of Paris' center and saw the metal band Gojira play the French Revolutionary anthem 'Ah! Ça Ira' while the classic Conciergerie caught fire. Not your average Olympic Opening repertoire!

The French made a 'tour de force' along the Seine, going from the Revolution to Les Miserables, the Mona Lisa, Victor Hugo, Jules Verne, and many more icons of the nation's culture and history.

In 2024, breakdance is an Olympic discipline for the first time. At the opening ceremony, we saw BMX bikes and skateboards in a bowl along the Seine, while the Polish singer and dancer Jakub Józef Orliński combined breakdance with baroque song.

Sadly, it rained a lot during this open-air, citywide celebration. No one was safe from the downpour - not even kings and queens, like Felipe and Letizia from Spain!

Not everyone looked their best in a poncho. Here's FIFA President Gianni Infantino, probably wondering what he's doing here.

But it didn't matter, as long as the athletes of the 2024 Summer Olympics had a good time. With or without ponchos, the Canadian delegation was having a blast!

As the official social media of the Olympic Games announced, "A representation of Olympic spirit and a call for peace and solidarity takes shape in the form of a horsewoman galloping across the Seine."

In this and many other images, the French organizers conveyed messages of tolerance, unity, and peace.

Read also: Ooh la la! These parts of the ceremony were controversial 

Some of the world's greatest in sports had the honor to carry the Olympic torch for its final stretch. Among them were French former football player Zinedine Zidane and the Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal.

The final torchbearers lit a fire in the Olympic Cauldron and caused a giant balloon to rise into the sky. Another ground-breaking effect in the Paris opening ceremony.

After a break of four years, Céline Dion returned to the world stage to sing 'Hymne à l'Amour,' a powerful love ballad by the French icon Edith Piaf. The Games were officially opened and they were already legendary.

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