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Paris- The Olympic flame lit up the Paris sky as hot air balloons held up the main torch during the Games, the climax of a sacred ceremony along the Seine River, the first ceremony in history to be held outside a stadium, which was damaged by heavy rain, but it did not stop the delirium of the attendees.
The cauldron will be lit by former athlete and three-time Olympic gold medalist, judoka Teddy Renier, culminating in the final relay, which will be started by Zinedine Zidane, continued by tennis player Rafa Nadal, and others will also be seeking a fourth in the French capital. Great sports figures such as Serena Williams, Nadia Comaneci or Carl Lewis will also be present, as will some French medalists such as Tony Parker, Amelie Mauresmo or cyclist Charles Coste, born in 1924 (the last time the Olympics were held in Paris).
The Olympic flame was raised in a balloon over the Tuileries Gardens and will remain burning until August 11, while Canadian Celine Dion climbed to the first floor of the Eiffel Tower and sang Edith Piaf’s “Hymn to Love” with her powerful voice.
The Seine was filled with shouts of excitement and joy, playing the protagonist of the day, the scene of the parade of 205 delegations, excluding Russia, who would compete for medals, a role that must be shared.
Organizers who hoped the ceremony would serve as a locomotive for the grand Olympics had their mettle tested by the elements, which certainly derailed their plans.
The maximum security measures paid off and if for months people had been talking about the risk of possible attacks at events held outside closed venues, the last and most negative emphasis was on the weather.
“But when you love the Olympics, you don’t let yourself be moved by a few drops of water,” said Tony Estanguet, the charismatic president of the organizing committee, who therefore wanted to make it clear that the rain had not dampened his entrepreneurial drive.
If many spectators had left the stands at that time, and if many people were still struggling against the heavy rain, the final fireworks show arranged by the organizers made them stand up from their seats and join in the unanimous applause.
Because the ceremony began in a farcical way, with Zidane taking over the Olympic torch from comedian Djamal Debouze at an empty Stade de France, marking Paris’ decision to hold the ceremony in an open-air venue.
The common thread is led by a mysterious masked figure inspired by the video game Assassin’s Creed, whose journey along the Seine gives way to parades of delegations in individual or collective boats, but also a series of art performances and musicals.
Lady Gaga and Aya Nakamura
Thus, you can hear Lady Gaga singing the Calabatra song “Mon truc enplumes” or the most popular French artist of the moment, Aya Nakamura, performing hits by Charles Aznavour with the Orchestra of the Republican Guard.
Numerous dance, acrobatic and artistic performances took place at different points on the river, while 85 boats transporting the athletes sailed 6 kilometers between the Austerlitz Bridge and the Trocadero in front of the Eiffel Tower.
It was raining at its heaviest, a rare phenomenon in the French capital in July, but such heavy rain showed the world that rain in Paris was normal.
It was then that many participants left their seats and the boats sped up to shorten the suffering of the athletes, who protected themselves with raincoats and skipped the final parade at the Trocadero, which was attended by only a few people.
Therefore, they did not participate in the final fireworks hidden by the organizers, and rescued Zidane again. Zidane took over the torch in a suit from the mysterious masked figure amid the cheers of the audience.
The former soccer player, who never competed in the Olympics, handed the fire to Nadal, who has won two gold medals and will seek to extend his record in Paris if his physique allows.
The Spanish tennis player carried the torch back to the river in the magical city where he won the French Open 14 times, where Serena Williams and her four gold medals, Nadia Comaneci and her nine medals, Carl Lewis and her friends were waiting for him with nine golds and one silver.
They sailed up the river in the opposite direction from where the ceremony took place to the Tuileries Garden next to the Louvre Museum, where Amelie Mauresmo took over, joined by Tony Parker and many other French Olympians and Paralympic champions.
All of them carried the torch to the final point, where Perec and Riner lit the flame rising from the balloon, marking the first time in history that the Olympic Games were held jointly.
In the background, the whole city listened to the powerful voice of Céline Dion, who reappeared after her illness, setting the final tone for the ceremony. JS
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