The Olympic flame has been lit.
Paris 2024 was inaugurated on Friday by two French stars by being lifted up in a hot air balloon.
Athletes have experienced a historic boat parade along the Seine with 300,000 in the audience. The security effort has been gigantic.
The flame was lit by the former track and field athlete Marie-José Pérec and judoka Teddy Riner.
It was then lifted up by a hot air balloon to the tones of Édith Piaf, performed by none other than Celine Dion, who stood on stage for the first time since being diagnosed with the rare nerve disease "stiff person syndrome".
The Paris inauguration has been historic. For the first time, the OS ceremony has been held outside an arena, in the heart of Paris – a slightly crazy idea at first, President Emmanuel Macron has acknowledged. It's also 100 years since Paris last hosted the OS.
This is the city of love. And for the next 16 days, it's your city. Welcome to Paris, said OS chief Tony Estanguet.
Historic boat tour
People have cheered, colors have sparkled, and fountains have flowed on the Seine as the OS torch has been carried forward in a boat – a real folk festival – despite the rain.
First out in the parade of the 206 countries was, as always, Greece, with the flame right in front. Sweden made its entrance about two hours later in a boat shared with Sri Lanka and South Sudan.
Flag bearers Peder Fredricson, equestrian, and Josefin Olsson, sailing, and about 20 other Swedish athletes smiled broadly and waved intensively with the blue and yellow flag from the upper deck.
Last out on the river was France, which of course had the largest boat. Shortly afterwards, "The Final Countdown" by the Upplands Väsby rock band Europe was played.
First gender-equal OS
The boats passed world-famous monuments like Notre-Dame and the Louvre, and finished with the illuminated Eiffel Tower as a backdrop.
There was speculation about which world artists would perform during the ceremony, and already after a few minutes, singer Lady Gaga appeared with the 1960s hit "Mon truc en plume" by Zizi Jeanmaire.
Metal band Gojira ripped off a song at the Conciergerie palace, and then the controversial singer Aya Nakamura followed. She is the most streamed artist in French in the world and has provoked the French far-right's Marine Le Pen ahead of the games.
The OS in Paris is the first fully gender-equal when it comes to participating men and women, and along the Seine tour, statues of historical French women, such as Simone de Beauvoir, rose.
The approximately 10,000 athletes boarded in the wake of last night's arson attack on railway lines outside Paris, which has caused chaos in train traffic. Tens of thousands of police, gendarmes, and guards monitored the inauguration, and metal fences along the river have infuriated the Parisians, who now hope to focus on the medals.
