For the first time, the opening ceremony of the Olympics took place not in the stadium, but in the very center of the city the Olympic teams of the world paraded along the Seine River in boats;
The Olympic Games officially opened in Paris. For the first time, the ceremony took place not in the stadium, but in the very center of the city. The world’s Olympic teams paraded along the Seine River in boats. About 300 thousand viewers watched this action.
Down the river
The flotilla brought more than 10 thousand athletes along the 6-kilometer route. Boats sail past the city’s most famous bridges and landmarks, including Notre Dame Cathedral and the Eiffel Tower.
This wonderful event started with relatively clear weather, but then it started to rain and hardly let up until the end of the action.
After the completion of the parade of teams, a metal horse with a rider and an Olympic flag on its shoulders rushed along the Seine.
A representation of the Olympic spirit and a call for peace and unity takes shape in the form of a female horsewoman galloping across the Seine. 🕊️#Paris2024 #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/ocsLCdRpJc
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) July 26, 2024
Sabotage
Just hours before the opening of the Summer Olympics in Paris, the French railway company SNCF said its facilities – tracks and stations – were damaged in different regions of the country. In particular, arson was reported.
The company is confident that the purpose of the attacks is to paralyze high-speed communications in the country.
Train tracks were damaged in the direction west, east and north of Paris between 01:00 and 05:30 local time. Huge queues formed at Paris Montparnasse station, where trains depart for western France, on Friday morning.
A large number of trains have been cancelled. According to SNCF representatives, about 250 thousand passengers were affected by the disruptions on Friday, and in the coming weekend their number will increase to 800,000.
SNCF said Friday was expected to be one of the busiest days on French railways, based on ticket sales, with thousands heading to Paris on the opening day of the Games and thousands preparing to leave the city for summer holidays.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said that the sabotage was well-planned and coordinated, and that the scale of the damage was enormous and very serious. He thanked the firefighters working at the arson sites and assured that the security services are looking for those responsible.
In turn, the representative of the National Olympic and Sports Committee of France (CNOSF), David Lappartien, assured that, as far as he knows, not a single participant in the Games was harmed by acts of sabotage.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.