PARIS (AP) — Celebrating its reputation as a cradle of revolution, Paris kicked off its first Summer Olympics in a century on Friday with a rain-soaked, rule-breaking opening ceremony studded with stars and fantasy along the Seine River. On-and-off showers — the first rain at a Summer Olympics' opening ceremony in more than 70 years — did not seem to hamper the enthusiasm of the athletes. Some held umbrellas as they rode boats down the river in a showcase of the city's resilience as authorities investigated suspected acts of sabotage targeting France's high-speed rail network.
Celine Dion's Olympics performance marked her return to performing after years. Standing under the Eiffel Tower, she belted out her first live performance since the French-Canadian singer was diagnosed stiff person syndrome, a rare neurological disorder, at the end of 2022. Crowds crammed the Seine's banks and bridges and watched from balconies, “oohing” and “aahing” as Olympic teams paraded in boats down the waterway that got increasingly choppy as the weather worsened.
Undeterred from the festivities, many of the hundreds of thousands of spectators huddled under umbrellas, plastic ponchos or jackets as the rain intensified, others danced and sang, and some dashed from their seats for shelter. “The rain can't stop us,” said US basketball star LeBron James, sporting a plastic poncho along with the other American flag bearer, tennis player Coco Gauff. The weather made for some bizarre s.