Dion Mikhail Fetalvero

One hundred years since it hosted the Olympics, Paris returned with an extravaganza – an Opening Ceremony for the history books.

Photo Courtesy of CNN.

Rocking the Boat

Groundbreaking – water-breaking, even, Paris opened its river to hundreds of thousands of fans and Olympic athletes as the Seine River took center stage – in a culmination of first for the quadrennial meet, July 27.

Paris innovated the Opening ceremony as it deviated from the traditional Olympic Stadium-esque program with athletes waving their flags and floating on boats and barges in the first Olympic water parade of the nations.

Together with choreographed performances near the riverside, featuring performers like Lady Gaga and French metal band Gojira, this unique yet exciting dynamic gave leeway for athletes to spectate from the river and parade at their boats partying as they basked in the Olympic spotlight. 

Mauritius even seemed to be among the individuals performing, parading with a cute dance choreography that made social media grooving. I guess they really know how to turn the fun up a notch!

The Philippine Centennial Team, on the other hand, don their “Sinag” barongs, and happily waved at the cameras as they shared their boat with Poland and Puerto Rico.

Breaking Currents

Paris did not just break land and water currents but they also capsized on air.

For the first time in history, the Olympic flame was airborne and fully lit by water and electricity. This was done in regards to French brothers Joseph-Michel Montgolfier and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier, attributed for the first practical hot air balloon, and the 1783 Tuileries experiment where the first hydrogen-powered flight of a balloon was made.

There’s nothing more romantic than seeing the flame in the Parisian sky in a hot air balloon, right?

The Paris organizers also paid respect to 18 Olympic and Paralympic athletes from France and from all-around the world. The torch was brought by icons like Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Carl Lewis, and Nadia Comaneci zooming at the River Seine, and culminated with judoka world champion Teddy Riner and three-time French Olympic gold medalist Marie-José Pérec lighting up the cauldron.

The lighting of the Torch took us across Paris, featuring sights like the Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum, Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concorde, the Champs-Élysées, and the Jardin des Tuileries where the Olympic cauldron stood. 

Drowning out the Rain

While it did rain on the parade, Paris didn’t let it drown out the spectacle that Parisian culture has continued to embody and excelled at as the opera, fashion, cabaret, and breakdancing were the forefront of the program. French icons Ava Nakamura and Nicky Doll delivered stellar performances and runway as they amplify French culture and talents at the global stage.

If anything, the rain made the ceremony more emotional and dramatic as ballad pieces stood out. French singer Juliette Armanet, alongside pianist Sofiane Pamart hit on our heartstrings as the French duo performed ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon. Talk about dramatic when you literally have a flaming piano cruising at the River Seine. 

But what stood at its pinnacle was Celine Dion.

The rain cried like a river as Celine Dion delivered an iconic and emotionally driven “L’Hymne à l’amour” at the base of the Eiffel Tower. This was her first-ever performance after her stiff-person diagnosis in 2022.

Dion’s performance ended the night and elevated the ceremony to new heights, capping off the pyrotechnics, light shows, and everything glitz and glamor that Paris has served in this Opening spectacle.