{"id":414132,"date":"2024-07-26T23:23:18","date_gmt":"2024-07-26T23:23:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=414132"},"modified":"2024-07-27T12:09:22","modified_gmt":"2024-07-27T12:09:22","slug":"chaos-electricity-and-finally-relief-inside-the-paris-2024-opening-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=414132","title":{"rendered":"Chaos, electricity and finally, relief: Inside the Paris 2024 opening ceremony"},"content":{"rendered":"

P\ufeffARIS:<\/strong> There has been an eerie calm in the French capital this week.<\/p>\n

With key areas around the popular tourist sites fenced off, the French capital has been something of a ghost town.<\/p>\n

Many Parisians have left the city while those that have stayed are seemingly indifferent to the spectacle of an Olympic Games.<\/p>\n

WATCH:<\/strong> Lady Gaga performs at opening ceremony<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It's been a subdued build-up to Paris 2024, notwithstanding several concerning criminal acts and the very real disruptions on the train network<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But that all changed on Friday.<\/p>\n

From the early drizzly hours, the air was regularly pierced with a constant hum of sirens as dozens-strong convoys of police roared around the city.<\/p>\n

Metro stations in central Paris were emptied and the already imposing police and military presence escalated literally overnight.<\/p>\n

Watch every moment, every medal of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 live and free on Channel 9 and<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a>. Plus, every event streaming ad free, live and on demand with 4K on<\/strong><\/em> Stan Sport<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Entry to the Main Press Centre – where much of the international print and digital media are based – was briefly closed to\ufeff media without explanation, with rows of black-clad officers stopping anyone, including accredited journalists, from getting anywhere near the doors.<\/p>\n

I overheard one officer \ufeffsuggesting a suspicious bag had been found, then another indicated a VIP was nearby.<\/p>\n

Either way, when I finally made it in, the requisite airport-style bag checks of earlier in the week had escalated to a personal bag search and more security wanding.<\/p>\n

It was to be expected that the day of the opening ceremony would see a major ramping up of security.<\/p>\n

The decision to hold the marquee event in the open air on the River Seine rather than a stadium presented security and logistical hurdles far more significant than those in front of any athletes over the next fortnight. \ufeff<\/p>\n

During a chaotic trip to a bridge on the river which saw multiple turnbacks, mixed messaging from all involved and general confusion, I rounded a corner in a Metro station to be confronted by three frazzled police officers.<\/p>\n

"It's closed but I don't know where to go. We're lost too," one sheepishly told me. \ufeff<\/p>\n

By the time I make it to the Pont du Caroussel, a bridge being used as a viewing site on the Seine, I've gone through three more bag checks and the rain has returned with a vengeance.<\/p>\n

It's all looking very gloomy but that won't dampen the spirits of the more than 300,000 invited guests and paying spectators.<\/p>\n

The marathon, four-hour spectacle gives us Lady Gaga<\/a>, parkour, heavy metal and nods to the French Revolution, Les Miserables<\/em> and even the Minions, which was not on my bingo card.<\/p>\n

A French colleague informs me the animated box office giants were co-created by a Frenchman and it starts to make sense – almost.<\/p>\n

\"Paris\"The<\/p>\n

In between all that, of course, more than 90 athlete boats float down the River Seine.<\/p>\n

Those on board and in the stands are having a blast and there's warm applause for the Refugee Olympic Team, Palestine and Ukraine contingents in particular.<\/p>\n

The calls for global peace – a mainstay of the Olympics – are brought to the fore with a rendition of Imagine<\/em> atop a floating barge accompanied by a flaming piano, no less.<\/p>\n

\"French\"The<\/p>\n

An extended music set piece – part fashion show, part dance-off – goes on for seemingly an hour but it's hard to criticise an Olympic opening ceremony for being maximalist.\ufeff<\/p>\n

And by the time\ufeff the Olympic cauldron – sorry, hot air balloon – is floating in the sky and Celine Dion is belting out an anthem from on the Eiffel Tower, the electricity is undeniable.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As epic – in every sense – as the opening ceremony\ufeff is, the abiding feeling might be relief.<\/p>\n

Relief that an incredibly ambitious idea went off seemingly without \ufeffa hitch, relief that it's over and relief that gold medals are just around the corner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

P\ufeffARIS: There has been an eerie calm in the French capital this week. With key areas around the popular tourist sites fenced off, the French […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":414134,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414132"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=414132"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":414140,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414132\/revisions\/414140"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/414134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=414132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=414132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=414132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}