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This term is as fitting for the French team’s first Olympic medallists, from day 1 of the competition (vs. day 4 in Tokyo), as it is for the director of the Olympic Games opening ceremony and his faithful acolytes in charge of music, costumes and choreography.<\/p>\n
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The exploits of Shirine Boukli<\/strong><\/b>, France’s first official medal<\/strong><\/b> (bronze in judo) and Luka Mkheidze (silver in judo<\/strong><\/b> ), and swimmer L\u00e9on Marchand<\/strong><\/b>, winning a first gold medal in the 400 m medley on the second day, were just some of the challenges facing Thomas Jolly and Thierry Rebould<\/strong><\/b>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hailed by international media such as Spanish sports newspaper Marca as \u201cthe greatest ceremony in history\u201d and the British tabloid The Sun as \u201cSeine-sational\u201d by the IOC, the opening ceremony, which took place in the City of Light on Friday July 26<\/strong><\/b>\u00a0at 7.30pm, was a grandiose performance<\/strong><\/b> showcasing the wealth of French know-how<\/strong><\/b>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In France<\/strong><\/b>, the event broadcast by France 2 attracted 22 million viewers<\/strong><\/b>, the second-highest audience ever in France, <\/strong><\/b>in front of the Football World Cup<\/strong><\/b> final between Les Bleus and Argentina<\/strong><\/b> in December 2022.<\/p>\n <\/b>. \u201cIf you’re going to get out of the stadium, you might as well get out of the frame,”<\/em> said the young director. He added : \u201cI chose to shake up the established order, interweaving show time, the athletes’ parade and protocol to create an unprecedented structure.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In addition to the pouring rain<\/strong><\/b>, there were moments of grace and intense emotion<\/strong><\/b>, such as C\u00e9line Dion<\/strong><\/b> singing the Edith Piaf’s Hymn to love from the top of the Eiffel Tower, after a four-year absence for health reasons, or an array of Olympic athletes relaying the Olympic flame, including this poignant exchange between former soccer star Zinedine Zidane and tennis player Rafael Nadal, 14-time defending champion of the French Open<\/strong><\/b>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Despite a wealth of ingenuity and an emphasis on representing French culture in all its diversity<\/strong><\/b>, the event did not fail to provoke some controversy on the web, <\/strong><\/b>particularly with certain international delegations<\/strong><\/b>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Addressing the police forces mobilized for the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, French President Emmanuel Macron <\/strong><\/b>hailed the decisive role <\/b>of homeland security in the success of the event<\/strong><\/b>: “What you did yesterday, everyone seven years ago told us it was impossible to do […] all the experts who told us it’s criminal madness, it will never be done, we won’t make it, it’s impossible.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thomas Jolly<\/strong><\/b> ‘s masterly performance of \u201ctwelve tableaux on all the emblems of the city of Paris and the senses they produce\u201d<\/strong><\/b> lasted nearly 3 hours 15 minutes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A feat worthy of a top-level sportsman, he mobilized so many people (18,000 only for the ceremony) and so much energy.\u00a0<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\nA challenge presented as impossible<\/h2>\n
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Paris 2024 opening ceremony from the Austerlitz bridge \u00a9 France TV<\/p>\n