An amazing laser show on the iconic Eiffel tower, bearing the five rings, during the Paris Olympics opening ceremony left the spectators, who stayed put despite the constant rain, awestruck and provided each one a moment to savour and preserve it in their mobile phones as a fantastic memory. The massive tower, sitting on the banks of river Seine, flashed multi-coloured lights to display regular and irregular moving patterns and scores of beams, which pierced the night sky amid the cloud cover. It was a sincere effort from the organisers to showcase the French creativity and wow the world by marrying history with modernity.
In times of conflicts around the world, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach and Paris 2024 Organising Committee president Tony Estanguet used the platform for the opening ceremony to call for solidarity and hope. “In a world torn apart by wars and conflicts, it is thanks to this solidarity that we can all come together tonight, uniting the athletes from the territories of all 206 National Olympic Committees and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team,” said Bach. Estanguet had a similar thought.
“Even though discrimination and conflicts are not about to disappear, tonight you have reminded us how beautiful humanity is when we come together,” he said. France, known for its plurality, provided the perfect setting to send out a message of peace and harmony. Following a three-month journey from Greece to the Games host city, the Olympic torch finally revealed a long-kept secret.
Football legend Zinedine Zidane began the last phase of the torch relay by handing it over to French Open legend Rafael Nadal, who dazzled in a red coat, before it was carried by another tennis legend Serena Williams. When the flame was ferried on a boat on Seine with Nadal and Serena on board, it elicited a round of warm applause from the spectators. French judo star Teddy Riner and sprinter Marie-Jose Perec jointly lit the cauldron, which propelled a glowing hot air balloon to mark the beginning of the sporting extravaganza.
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