Well, It Was Unique

When Paris promised us a "one of a kind" Opening Ceremony along the banks of the Seine rather than inside the Stade de France, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  I liked the concept of showcasing everything the city has to offer and making it accessible to hundreds of thousands of fans, but wasn't sure if it would work.  It would either be spectacular or a disaster.  Unfortunately, it was the second one.

The memorable Opening Ceremonies of Sydney, Beijing and London it was not.  Actually, scratch that.  It was memorable.  But not for the right reasons.  Although, they definitely achieved their goal of a "one of a kind" ceremony that was definitely unique.  And there were some enjoyable parts.  Just not enough of them.

I actually thought the way they started the ceremony was very clever.  A torchbearer running into the Stade de France, only to wonder where everybody was before French soccer legend Zinedine Zidane saved the day.  Unfortunately, it was pretty much all downhill from there, though.

Now, there was one thing that was completely out of their control.  It was pouring throughout much of the Ceremony!  After the years of planning and all that preparation, it, of course, had to rain on the big night!  It hadn't rained during a Summer Olympic Opening Ceremony since 1952!  That's just bad luck.  I don't really think it impacted the Ceremony one way or the other, though.  People either had umbrellas or ponchos or they didn't and got wet (although, I hope athletes didn't get sick by getting wet in what would otherwise be extremely pleasant temperatures).

Mixing the Parade of Nations with the cultural presentation seemed like a good idea in theory.  In reality, though, it made everything feel so disjointed.  The fact that everything was so spread out didn't help matters, either.  Some performances were held on the steps of buildings overlooking the river.  Others were on barges alongside the athlete boats.  And the stuff that wasn't on the water was obviously pretty far away.  It was confusing and enough to give you whiplash, especially with the way they kept cutting back and forth to that fashion show (I don't know if that was NBC or the world feed's decision)!

They also took away from the spectacle of some of the key elements by putting almost too much focus on the Seine.  There were no French Olympic legends carrying the Olympic flag into the stadium.  Instead, it was some woman on horseback wearing it as a cape as she "rode" up the river, which looked creepy in the pitch black of night, then walking it by herself up that long stage that they made to look like the Eiffel Tower (which was a cool touch).  And, I'm not 100 percent sure, but I think the Olympic flag might've been upside down after they raised it up the flagpole!

And what was that with the torch?  I don't really know what to make of that!  They had that mysterious figure take it down the parade route to the Trocadero...only to then put it on a boat and send it right back!  And that hot air balloon thing?  That might just be the weirdest Olympic cauldron in history! 

Although, I can't help but be proud of myself for nailing the final two torchbearers who actually lit the cauldron--Teddy Riner and Marie-Jose Perec.  That final portion of the torch relay (after it got off that boat with Serena, Rafa, Carl Lewis and Nadia Comaneci) was actually one of the better parts.  In honor of the 2024 Olympics, it was 24 French Olympic and Paralympic champions, who all ran together after handing it off.  Having the 100-year-old Charles Coste, a 1948 Olympic gold medalist in cycling who was born the year Paris last hosted the Olympics and is France's oldest living Olympic champion, be the final torchbearer before Perec and Riner was a particularly nice touch.

That spectacular light show on the Eiffel Tower was another highlight.  If they don't do that every year on New Year's Eve and Bastille Day, they should.  Celine Dion's finale was sensational, as well! They reportedly paid her $2 million to perform.  It was well worth it.  She was as showstopping as ever!  The performance of "Imagine," which has become an Olympic Opening Ceremony staple, was equally beautiful.

Celine Dion's powerful voice was just one of many different musical styles that was used.  I've never seen such variety at an Olympic ceremony.  She and Lady Gaga were the headliners, but they touched on every different style of French music.  They went from Les Miserables to heavy metal to classical to, of course, the can-can to rap to opera (the performance of "La Marseillaise" got lost in the shuffle since it was mixed in with everything else, but it was beautiful).  So, you certainly can't accuse them of leaving anybody out.

There was also something cool about the variety of boats used to transport the athletes.  That was actually one of the things I was most curious to see going in.  For the most part, I think they pulled it off.  The United States and France, with their huge delegations, had what looked like cruise ships packed to the brim.  Some of the smaller delegations, meanwhile, looked like somebody took a handful of buddies out on the boat just to hang out.  All they were missing was the cooler full of beers.  (That's not a criticism at all.  I actually thought some of the smaller boats were the coolest-looking ones.  And I loved that they had boats of all different sizes.)

Those multi-team boats, though.  I have mixed feelings about those.  I get why they had countries share boats.  And, on the one hand, it was cool to see athletes from different nations all mixed together at the Opening Ceremony, which is something we normally only see at the Closing Ceremony.  Although, on the other hand, there's something special about marching into the stadium and hearing your country's name announced, and that moment was somewhat taken away by sharing your "entrance" with other nations.

Another thing I have mixed feelings about was the red carpet for celebrity arrivals.  For one thing, it's Paris.  So, it's very appropriate for the setting.  The Olympics aren't about the celebrities in attendance, though.  They're about the athletes.  If this was a one-time deal because they were in Paris, I guess I'm fine with it.  But the next Olympics are in LA, and they aren't exactly lacking for celebrities there, so I fear this is going to become a regular thing, which is an idea I'm not a fan of.

Ultimately, though, this Opening Ceremony achieved exactly what they were looking for.  They wanted to showcase all that Paris has to offer.  They wanted the city itself to be one of the stars.  And there's no denying that they were successful in that regard.  There's absolutely no mistaking where this ceremony was taking place.

It was an idea that was as bold as it was novel.  Having the Olympic Opening Ceremony in the heart of the city instead of inside a stadium.  It was worth giving it a shot, too.  You don't know if it'll work until you try it.  And for all the security risks they took and the logistical and technical challenges it presented, they did pull it off.  Not without a hitch, but they pulled it off nonetheless.

With all that being said, however, I hope it was a one-time thing.  LA will have its own unique Opening Ceremony at both the L.A. Coliseum and SoFi Stadium in 2028, but even that promises to be more traditional than what we saw in Paris.  That's the missing element that made this Opening Ceremony feel lacking.  Paris brought the Opening Ceremony to everybody, and it was packed along the parade route.  But there's just something about having it in a stadium that brings the excitement.  And that excitement was the biggest thing that was missing at this Opening Ceremony.