Paris Olympic Games begin with sprawling opening ceremony on the River Seine
Paris Olympic Games begin with sprawling opening ceremony on the River Seine
Paris: The Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games began yesterday with an official ceremony on the Seine.
The opening ceremony, which was held for the first time outside the stadium, began with a video clip of French actor Jamel Debbouze and former French footballer Zinedine Zidane at the Stade de France. 6,800 athletes from 205 countries, transported on 85 boats in front of historical landmarks in the capital, Paris, participated in the opening that lasted three hours and 45 minutes.
The ceremony was witnessed by 320,000 spectators from specially built stands on the banks of the river, and about 200,000 from the balconies of neighboring buildings.
The first boat included the Greek delegation, which is considered the cradle of ancient and modern games and hosted the first edition of the Olympics in 1896, followed by a boat carrying the Olympic refugee team, before being followed by boats of other delegations at the beginning of a celebration in which the famous American singer Lady Gaga participated.
Olympic champion Mutaz Essa Barshim raised the flag of the State of Qatar at the opening ceremony alongside athlete Shahd Mohammed, noting that 14 male and female athletes represent Qatar in this version of the Olympics, participating in five different sports.
Champion Mutaz Barshim expressed his happiness to carry the flag of Qatar at the opening of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, stressing that it is a moment for history as this is the first time he is present at the opening ceremony.
The Qatari Olympic champion said, in remarks, that the atmosphere was wonderful at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, which was held for the first time outside the stadium on the Seine in Paris, where the athletes were on boats, expressing his hope that the Qatari sports mission will be successful in the Olympic Games during its participation in the current session, as everyone is looking forward to achieving the best results and honoring the State of Qatar in this sporting event.
The Arab delegations participated in the opening ceremony, where the flags of these countries were carried by Palestine's Wassim Abu Sal (boxing) and Valerie Terzi (swimming), Algeria's Amina Belkadi (judo) and Yasser Triki (athletics), Saudi Arabia's Dunya Abu Taleb (taekwondo) and Ramzi Al-Dahami (equestrian), Kuwait's Suad Al-Faqan (rowing) and Yousef Al-Shamlan (fencing), Bahrain's Amani Al-Obaidli (swimming) and Saud Ghali (swimming), Egypt's Sara Ahmed Samir (weightlifting) and Ahmed Al-Jundi (modern pentathlon), UAE's Omar Abdulaziz Al-Marzouqi (equestrian) and Safia Al-Sayegh (cycling), Iraq's Ali Ammar (weightlifting), Jordan's Rama Abu Al-Rab (taekwondo) and Saleh Al-Sharbaty (taekwondo), Lebanon's Letitia Aoun (taekwondo) and Simon Al-Duwaihi (swimming), Libya's Malak Al-Mukhtar (swimming) and Mohamed Bakra (rowing), Morocco's Ines Laqlalesh (golf) and Yassin Al-Rahmouni (Equestrian), Mauritania's Salam Bouha (Athletics) and Kamel Ould Douh (Swimming), Oman's Mazoon Al-Alawi (Athletics) and Ali Al-Balushi (Athletics), Sudan's Yassin Abdullah (Athletics) and Rana Saadeddin (Swimming), Syria's Omar Hamsho (Equestrian) and Alissar Youssef (Athletics), Tunisia's Salim Al-Jumai (Canoe Slalom) and Khadija Al-Karimi (Rowing), Yemen's Samir Al-Yafei (Athletics), Somalia Hassan Ali Idowu (Athletics), Djibouti's Samia Hassan Nour (Athletics) and Ismail Mohamed (Athletics), and Comoros' Hashim Maroufou (Athletics) and Maisha Saadi (Swimming).
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