PARIS: The opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics started Friday, with 7,000 athletes parading down the Seine River.
For the first time in history of Olympics, the opening ceremony is taking place outside the main stadium, with some 300,000 people watching from specially built stands on the river banks.
The Greek delegation led the flotilla, as the cradle of the modern Olympic movement. The athletes for the first time sailed the river in an armada of 85 boats.
The show is blend of both French culture and history and great Olympic moments of the past while US pop star Lady Gaga enthralled the crowd with an early performance in the ceremony.
Despite the forecast of heavy rain, and a wave of attacks which affected France’s high-speed rail network early Friday, organisers were confident of audacious ceremony.
Chief Games organiser Tony Estanguet before the show said there would be some modifications if it was wet, but he insisted the weather would not dampen the mood. “It’s going to be a beautiful moment, it’s going to be a great party,” he added.
Long queues had formed at access points along the Seine rivers hours before the start of the parade.
“The atmosphere is really friendly,” said 75-year-old Frenchman Jean-Yves Herve, who watched the show with his grand-daughter. “There are lots of foreigners, we’re enjoying it. It’s good for France.”
A huge security operation was in place for the international event, with a security perimeter erected along both banks of the Seine.
The ceremony is being guarded by 45,000 police and paramilitary officers and another 10,000 soldiers and 22,000 private security guards will complete the security operation.
Around 3,000 dancers performed from the banks of the river and monuments including Notre-Dame cathedral in a show that will promote French history, gender equality and diversity.
