This photograph taken on July 26 shows the Eiffel Tower with illumated wings in foreground after the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Photo: AFP
Amid vast criticisms and security concerns, France pulled off the Olympic opening ceremony for the 2024 Paris Games on Saturday. Here, we present you some of the pictures from the grand opening ceremony that lasted a marathon four hours despite rain drenching performers, athletes, and onlookers protected by nothing more than plastic ponchos.
A general view shows the Olympic rings illuminated on the Eiffel Tower during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26. Photo: AFP
Overview of the Trocadero venue, with the Eiffel Tower looming in the background and lasers lighting up the sky, during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26. Photo: AFP
Spain's tennis player Rafael Nadal (L) hands over the Olympics torch to former French tennis player Amelie Mauresmo during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26. Photo: AFP
French former football player Zinedine Zidane (L) looks on as Spain's tennis player Rafael Nadal (R) carries the Olympic flame at the Trocadero during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26. Photo: AFP
The cauldron, with the Olympic flame lit, lifts off while attached to a balloon during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26. Photo: AFP
The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach, France's President Emmanuel Macron, French journalist and singer Kareen Guiock-Thuram, former French football player Lilian Thuram and the French President's wife Brigitte Macron applaud during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26. Photo: AFP
A grab of a video released by the Olympic Broadcasting Services shows Canadian Singer Celine Dion performing on the Eiffel Tower during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26. Photo: AFP
Floriane Issert, a Gendarmerie non-commissioned officer of the National Gendarmerie, rides on a metal horse up the Seine river past the Cassation Court and Conciergerie, during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26. Photo: AFP
Floriane Issert, a Gendarmerie non-commissioned officer of the National Gendarmerie, carries the Olympic flag as she rides on the Iena bridge during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26. Photo: AFP
