Aya Nakamura, Lady Gaga, Philippe Katerine, Céline Dion, Juliette Armanet… The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games took place without a single false note, even if the rain doused some of the audience.
And in the end, it was them, Marie-Jo Pérec and Teddy Riner, who lit the cauldron. It was 11:22 p.m. on Friday, July 26, when the two triple French Olympic champions approached very slowly, torches in hand, a dirigible balloon specially installed in the Tuileries Gardens. As it flew into the Paris sky, Celine Dion suddenly started to sing The Hymn to Love, of Edith Piaf, from the first floor of the Eiffel Tower. By organizing for the first time an opening ceremony outside a stadium, Tony Estanguet and his teams promised to “breaking the codes”. This was the case.
From 2 p.m., the crowd gathers along the Seine, over the six kilometers between the Pont d’Austerlitz and the Trocadéro, in the hope of catching a glimpse of this four-hour show broadcast worldwide.
Near the “Quai Conti”, Sara climbs on her father’s shoulders, who is himself balancing on a concrete block, on tiptoe, to try to catch a glimpse of something between the trees, the railings and the low wall. Every two minutes, as soon as a boat passes, the little girl asks: “It’s France ?” Everyone wants to enjoy the show. Without a single ticket, without a single QR code, a family finds itself 100 meters from the stage, where artists are to perform. A policeman asks them: “But how did you get here?” They answer: “If we tell you, will you ask us to leave?
Very close to the Pont des Arts, two soldiers in fatigues, machine guns slung over their shoulders, are keeping a close eye on the quays. A glance to the left, another to the right, another to the left, towards the Seine, the side of the show. Below, a group of police officers have already taken out their smartphones. With their arms in the air, they film and take photos. “Do you like guys?” “Seriously, hot!” Fifty meters away, under the Pont des Arts, Brigitte is strangely willing to do some extra work. Yellow vest on her back, the security guard normally finishes at 8 p.m. “Is Aya Nakamura coming soon?”she asks, as if nothing had happened. She can’t even hear the orders her walkie-talkie is spitting out anymore.
The most listened to French artist in the world is expected any minute now. A couple in their twenties hails the passengers of a barge: “We’re nice, we’re funny and we have alcohol. Are you inviting us on board with you?” “Sorry, the authorities told us ‘twelve people maximum'”answers Babeth, the owner of the place. On board her boat, moored on Saint-Louis Island, “there are only good friends”.
“Everyone brought something: a quiche, a cake, wine, champagne…”
Babeth, owner of a bargeto franceinfo
His daughter, Kenya, took out her telephoto lens. His sister, a pair of binoculars. A friend stood on the roof of the barge. “Guys, Colombia is coming!”
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On the terrace of the Paris City Hall, a few hundred privileged people have a front row seat to watch Benjamin Diop, the star dancer of the Paris Opera Ballet, perform on the roof of the building. It was “completely crazy”says a member of the entourage of Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris. Before going on stage, on the quay of the Hôtel-Dieu, Charlie* thought he saw the boats of Argentina and Algeria. The dancer does not regret the hours of rehearsals: “It was really cool, the performance went by really quickly, but we made the most of it!” From up there, he heard the applause of the crowd. But not the few boos that accompanied the passage of the Israeli delegation. Despite the rain, the former TV presenter Christine Bravo recognized his boat, Frou Frouin the parade, with the Syrian athletes on board.
A little further on, between the Pont des Invalides and the Pont de l’Alma, the humidity is seriously starting to affect the morale of the troops. “There’s way too much rain there”breathes a discouraged spectator, while The Marseillaise resounds from the roof of the Grand Palais, carried by mezzo-soprano Axelle Saint-Cirel.
“We can’t see anything, it’s raining, but it’s still nice!”
A group of friends taking refuge under a porchto franceinfo
“Outside of a stadium, you lose out on watching live performances. It’s better to watch them on TV”says Doug, an American tourist sheltering from the rain under a stand. On the surface of the Seine, statues of women slowly emerge to pay homage to the great figures such as Gisèle Halimi, Simone de Beauvoir, Louise Michel and Simone Veil.
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“If the weather had been nice, imagine what it would have been like!” regrets Maxime, one hand on his umbrella, turning to his neighbor. New delegations led by Japan, Jordan and Kazakhstan are advancing on the water, but Charalambous does not see them. He has taken refuge in the shelter. “We can’t stay in the rain. It’s a disaster. Not to mention there was no choice for food.”laments this Cypriot tourist, who is attending his fourth Olympic Games.
“We paid 2500 euros for this. And they don’t even sell raincoats.”
Charalambous, Cypriot touristto franceinfo
Barry, a British man living in Switzerland, leaves the show with a determined step and leaves behind performers on a skatepark redesigned as a French garden. After the organizational problems to access the stands, he complains about the infrastructure. “They are not able to put a roof over our heads. It is terrible.”he gets annoyed. “I would have stayed, but my husband is completely wet…” completes his wife.
As night falls, a parade of young designers gets underway, before new delegations appear. Around 9:30 p.m., the French boat finally shows the tip of its bow. “It brought the atmosphere back and the concerts woke everyone up”testifies Agathe in the stands. The electro music warms the bodies and the public discovers the singer Philippe Katerine disguised as Dionysus. “It’s a grandiose ceremony, which highlights the richness and diversity of our country. We are proud to be French.”rejoices Mathieu, a 34-year-old from Nancy. Time stands still for a few moments when Juliette Armanet and Sofiane Pamart perform Conceived by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. “This ceremony is truly magnificent! It gave voice to the women who built our country and to all the artists who make it up today.”Romain enthuses.
A rider in metallic colours goes up the river to the Trocadéro for the grand finale. After the speeches and protocol, the last torchbearers follow one after the other. “I found it magnificent, moving, modern and unifying!” comments the resigning minister Olivia Grégoire, from the foot of the Eiffel Tower, which is lit up from all sides. “It was a very beautiful ceremony, very original. The rain spoils the visual pleasure a little”adds his colleague Marc Fesneau. It is almost midnight, the 330,000 spectators leave the XXL concert hall that was the Seine for one evening. On the way to the metro stations, resounds The Hymn to Love performed by Celine Dion in the crowd. Agathe walks away from the banks of the Seine with a smile on her lips: “The final word: ‘Magical’. France broke the codes tonight. It was grandiose, it was genius, it really took our breath away.”