It was not just a tour of Paris and a little history of France. The opening ceremony, on 26 July, for the Paris Olympic Games took us on a world tour across continents and reminded us of the diversity of cultures, names of countries, and different athletes to watch out for at the Games.
Both Palestine and Israel paraded their participants for the Games.
Like the technological changes and advancements happening in all sectors, the athletes didn’t have to walk around the track this time around; they only needed to wave their flags and dance on boats as they floated on the Seine.
Some boats were much larger than others. Of the 85 boats that carried 6,800 athletes, some had different nations occupying one, while other nations with larger numbers of participants took entire boats.
Canada, which has more than 300 athletes registered for the Games, had its boat full and was among the largest contingents on the parade. The other largest boats were the USA, China, Japan, Spain, and Australia.
Then, a whole ship carried the French team!
So much for the opening ceremony designs and the kitting. Some of the athletes had to wear polythene jackets over their clothing to shelter themselves from the intermittently wet weather during the opening ceremony.
Amid the breaks in the athletes’ parade were music performances from world-renowned musicians. Legendary Celine Dion performed after the lighting of the Olympic flame.
In his welcome speech, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach expressed joy that the dream of all the Olympians was coming true as Olympians from all around the globe showed everyone across the world what greatness we humans are capable of.
“I invite everybody to dream with us. Like the Olympic athletes, be inspired by the joy that only sport can give us. Let us celebrate this Olympic spirit of living life in peace as the one and only humankind, united in all our diversity,” Bach said.