The opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games took place yesterday

The opening was nothing short of spectacular.

It is well known that the opening ceremony of the Olympics gives the host country a unique opportunity to dazzle the world with a grand show. The opening of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games was just that - the organisers abandoned the traditional opening ceremony and instead held the opening event not in a stadium but throughout the entire city, making it the first Games to do so.

Before the show, athletes paraded along the Seine River in boats designated for each country. The Azerbaijani team shared their boat with two other countries. Spectators, athletes, and those watching the parade from screens were all drenched.

155 openly LGBTQ+ athletes will compete in Paris

Speaking briefly about queer Olympians, four-time gold medalist and American icon Greg Louganis was supposed to be part of the 1992 Olympics broadcast team. However, he was sidelined. When network executives considered Louganis for the broadcast, his secret was revealed: Louganis was not only gay but also living with HIV. This revelation was deemed too risky by the broadcasters, leading to his removal from the broadcast and most commercial opportunities.

For current queer Olympians, there is no longer a binary choice. At least 155 athletes will compete in Paris this year, and their identities will not be hidden as confidential information. Queers will be celebrated in Paris just as they were at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Notably, the LGBTQ+ team members won 32 medals in Tokyo. If ‘queer nation’ were a country, it would have ranked seventh in terms of medal count. This year, 155 openly LGBTQ+ athletes will compete at the Paris Olympic Games. The full list of Team LGBTQ has been presented by OutSports.

Additionally, the Paris Olympics also made queer Olympic history with drag performers carrying the Olympic Torch. Three French drag artists took to the main stage ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics and became the first drag artists to carry the Olympic torch.

This Olympics is the most politically charged in recent years

The 2024 Summer Olympic Games have been embroiled in politics due to Israel's war in Gaza and Russia's war in Ukraine. Amid protests and heightened security, the Israeli football team played to a draw against Mali, a country that does not recognize Israel, in one of the first highly tense events of the Summer Games.

On the morning of the opening day, there were arson attacks on France's railway network. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said on Friday that these attacks would have "no impact" on the evening's opening ceremonies. However, some Olympic athletes were among those whose travel was disrupted by the arson attacks. The Associated Press reported that two trains carrying athletes to Paris were stopped.

The Olympics have turned into a nightmare for homeless people in Paris

The city promised that these Games would benefit some of the poorest communities in the capital region. However, steps taken by French authorities to clear tent camps where homeless Parisians and migrants sought shelter - by weakening the emergency shelter system - have denied this promise. Since May, officers have been shouting "Bonjour, Monsieur! Wake up!" to move the homeless away from the central parts of Paris.

Highlights from the opening ceremony

Lady Gaga descended a giant golden staircase, meeting Moulin Rouge with Marilyn Monroe in a "Funny Face" comedy touch, while men waved giant pink feathers. She wore a fantastic headdress made of black feathers. The French, like queers, love Gaga. At the Saint-Denis party, Gaga received the loudest reaction from the crowd, even louder than French football legend Zinedine Zidane, who was part of a pre-show montage.

The scene of a hooded figure running across the rooftops of Paris was familiar to viewers of the Netflix series "Lupin," starring French actor Omar Sy and based on the famous French literary figure, "gentleman thief" Arsène Lupin. This masked torchbearer is based on several well-known masked characters in French culture. The torchbearer entered the Louis Vuitton workshop. LVMH is one of the event's biggest sponsors, with LV also designing the medals and their cases.

Many have called the 2024 Olympics the "biggest fashion Olympics ever," including the Business of Fashion, as the host country is France, where clothing is considered a national treasure on par with Champagne and mother sauces.

During the event, ten golden statues emerged from the Seine, each honouring a notable woman in French history. According to the organisers, there are 260 male statues in public places in Paris but only about 40 female statues. These ten statues of women will be given to the city.

Until 1988, doves were released during the Opening Ceremonies as a symbol of peace. However, during the Seoul Games, some of the doves flew into the Olympic flame. Since then, live birds have not been used, with organising committees preferring symbolic gestures. The horse galloping in the middle of the Seine was made of metal, but the female rider on it was incredibly realistic.

Artistic director Thomas Jolly noted that his vision was to showcase the "wish-fulfilling and healing power" of the Paris River during global conflicts and after local tragedies, including the fire that severely damaged Notre Dame Cathedral in 2019. “Paris is back on its feet, jubilant, flamboyant, creative and open. Free,” Jolly wrote.

At the Opening Ceremony, headless figures depicting Marie Antoinette were featured on the banks of the Seine, where the queen was held captive during the French Revolution.

Following the athletes' parade, Paris delegations performed a river pageant, breaking away from the old choreography of the show. The program progressed through 12 "artistic tableaux" with themes like "freedom," "sisterhood," and "darkness," each showcasing aspects of French history, culture, and craftsmanship - Moulin Rouge dancers, the Mona Lisa, acrobats, fashion models, and scenes from "Les Misérables."

It was a star-studded event: Lady Gaga, wearing pink feathers, performed the classic cabaret song "Mon Truc en Plumes." The metal band Gojira and pop star Aya Nakamura brought a French flavour. Céline Dion closed the ceremony with an emotional performance of the "Hymn to Love" following an epic light show on the Eiffel Tower.

"If the sky falls into the sea and the stars fade around me..." begins France's most famous love song: "L'hymne à l'amour."

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