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Flotilla on Seine, rain and Celine Dion mark start of Olympics

Richa Naidu, Juliette Jabkhiro and Gus Trompiz
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Paris | French President Emmanuel Macron declared the Olympic Games open after a soaking wet ceremony in which athletes were cheered by the crowd along the Seine, dancers took to the roofs of Paris and Lady Gaga sang a French cabaret song.

France’s three-time Olympic gold medallists Marie-Jose Perec and Teddy Riner then lit the Olympic cauldron, suspended on a hot-air balloon, before Canada’s Celine Dion sang Edith Piaf’s “Hymn to Love”, in her first public performance in years, drawing huge cheers from the crowd.

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    Original URL: https://www.afr.com/world/europe/opening-ceremony-starts-under-watchful-eye-of-security-forces-20240727-p5jwym