When the boats pulled away on July 26, a lot of people watching around the world wondered the same thing: would the rain wreck it? It did not. The 2024 Olympics opened on the River Seine with 6,800 athletes from 205 delegations riding 85 boats past Paris’s best-known sights, and the downpour barely slowed anyone.
Athletes put on ponchos and umbrellas. Around 2,000 musicians, dancers and other artists performed along the route, a trip through French history, art and sport. Lady Gaga sang a cabaret number, and Celine Dion made an emotional return. Blue, white and red fireworks lit the Tricolore above Austerlitz Bridge.
The day itself had started badly. Arson attacks on the French rail network caused disruption, and the evening rain ruined artistic director Thomas Jolly’s hope of using the Parisian sun to “make the water sparkle.”
The flame goes up
Judo great Teddy Riner and sprinter Marie-Jose Perec lit the cauldron, a beacon shaped like a hot air balloon that rose into the night sky. The last two boats carried the biggest contingents: the United States, host of Los Angeles 2028, and France, the current host.
IOC president Thomas Bach opened the 33rd Summer Olympics with a message to the athletes about an event that “unites the world in peace.” More than 10,500 athletes will compete in 32 sports before the Games end on August 11. Paris is hosting the Summer Games for the third time, and the first time in 100 years.
The river itself
For the people of Paris, the Seine was more than a stage. Swimming in it had been banned since 1923 because of pollution. Last spring the city announced a $1.5 billion plan to clean it up, with Olympic swimming events in mind and, eventually, public swimming.
Heavy rain is the problem. When the sanitation system is overwhelmed, untreated wastewater flows into the river and bacteria levels, including E. coli, climb. The opening night storm and the days after it forced organizers to cancel training sessions and postpone the men’s triathlon.
On July 17, Mayor Anne Hidalgo and members of local swimming clubs jumped in to prove the water was safe. Then on July 31 the triathletes dived in near the Pont Alexandre III. France’s Cassandre Beaugrand won the women’s race and Britain’s Alex Yee took the men’s. “I have no doubts about the quality of the Seine,” Beaugrand said. Hidalgo told reporters the city had “won our bet.”
The river had more work ahead: the triathlon mixed relay on August 5, and marathon swimming on August 8 and 9, with water testing continuing before each.
Sources
- Paris 2024 Olympics Kick Off with Spectacular Seine River Ceremony – Y News
- Olympians Finally Got to Swim in the Seine River
