Paris Olympics 2024 Opening Ceremony Updates: This time the Olympic Games are being held in Paris, the capital of France. The grand opening of Paris Olympics 2024 took place on 26 July, while it is to conclude on 11 August. Everyone’s eyes were on the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, which took place on the banks of the Seine River.
Badminton star PV Sindhu and table tennis legend Achanta Sharath Kamal, who is going to play his fifth Olympics, led the Indian contingent in the opening ceremony. Both these players are the first players from their respective sports to become the flag bearers of India in the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Paris Olympics 2024 has officially started with the opening ceremony.
Those smiles carry the dreams and aspirations for glory 🥇of a billion Indians 🫡🇮🇳
The Indian contingent has arrived officially at the #OpeningCeremony of #Paris2024! 😍#OlympicsOnJioCinema #OlympicsOnSports18 #JioCinemaSports #Cheer4Bharat pic.twitter.com/madpvuv9zA
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) July 26, 2024
♦ 1.27 AM: India’s schedule on the first day of competition at the Paris Olympics (Saturday, July 27) (Indian time)
badminton
7:10 pm – Men’s Singles Group Match: Lakshya Sen vs Kevin Corden (Guatemala)
8 PM – Men’s Doubles Group Match: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty vs Lucas Corvey & Ronan Labar (France)
11:50 pm – Women’s Doubles Group Match: Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto vs Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong (Korea)
boxing
12:05 pm – Women’s 54kg preliminary round match: Preeti Pawar vs Thi Kim Anh Vo (Vietnam)
Hockey
9 PM- Pool B Match: India vs New Zealand-
sailing
12:30 pm – Men’s Single Sculls: Panwar Balraj
table tennis
7:15 pm – Men’s Singles First Round: Harmeet Desai vs Zaid Abo (Yemen)
Tennis
03:30 PM – Men’s Doubles First Round Match: Rohan Bopanna & N Sriram Balaji vs Edward Roger-Vasselin & Fabien Reboul (France)
Shooting
12:30 pm – 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team Qualification: Sandeep Singh / Elavenil Valarivan
12:30 pm – 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team Qualification: Arjun Babuta / Ramita Jindal
2 pm – 10m Air Pistol Men’s Qualification: Arjun Singh Cheema
2 pm – 10m Air Pistol Men’s Qualification: Sarabjot Singh
4 pm – 10m Air Pistol Women’s Qualification: Manu Bhaker
4 pm – 10m Air Pistol Women’s Qualification: Rhythm Sangwan
Medal Event (upon qualifying)
* Bronze Medal- 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team- 2.00 pm
* Gold Medal – 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team – 2.30 pm
♦ 1.25 AM: Being the host country of Los Angeles Games 2028, USA stood second to last in the floating parade. Being the host country of the current Olympic Games, France’s turn came last.
Welcome @TeamUSA 🫡 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/LQClO2X0Uu
— Paris 2024 (@Paris2024) July 26, 2024
♦ 1.09 AM: The Serbian team also participated in the parade during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. However, Serbia’s star tennis player Novak Djokovic was not spotted.
♦ 1.02 AM: The Pakistani contingent also participated in the parade, led by javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem. A total of 7 athletes including 3 women were aboard the Pakistani boat.
♦ 12.58 AM: Famous French rapper Rim’K also surprised fans with his special performance at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
💛 A tribute to 10 golden heroines of French history.
Olympe de Gouges, Alice Milliat, Gisèle Halimi, Simone de Beauvoir, Paulette Nardal, Jeanne Barret, Louise Michel, Christine de Pizan, Alice Guy and Simone Veil.#Paris2024 #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/VeUCrrDJ5q
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) July 26, 2024
♦ 12.16 AM: The wait of Indian fans is over. Under the leadership of badminton star PV Sindhu and table tennis legend Sharath Kamal, Indian players and officials on board the boat registered their presence in this floating parade, accepting the greetings of the spectators. A 78-member Indian contingent participated in this ceremony. However, 117 players from India are going to participate in the Paris Olympics.
♦ 12.12 AM: The opening ceremony continues amidst the rain. The turn of Egyptian players came in the floating parade. In a few minutes, the turn of the Indian team will also come.
♦ 12.03 AM: Cuba stood 52nd in the floating parade. Whereas India’s number is 84. Meanwhile, opera singer Marina Viotti and singer Aya Nakamura also performed.
Aya Nakamura! One of France’s greatest pop stars, and the orchestra of the Republican Guard performing on the Pont des Arts.
This moment celebrates the unifying power of the French language, influenced by diverse communities across time. #Paris2024 #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/QYlS3EOD3G
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) July 26, 2024
♦ 12.00 AM: India won a total of 7 medals in the Tokyo Olympics, which is its best performance in the history of the Olympic Games. This also includes Indian player Neeraj Chopra’s first athletics gold. A total of 112 athletes from the country will participate in 69 medal events in 16 sports in Paris. Five reserve athletes will also be in Paris.
♦ 11.53 PM: Every medal awarded at the Paris Olympics has pieces of iron from the Eiffel Tower embedded in it. During the restoration of the Eiffel Tower in the 20th century, these pieces were removed from the original tower and preserved. Once excess carbon is removed from cast iron, the iron that remains is almost pure and extremely strong.
Did you know that every Paris 2024 medal is adorned with a piece of original iron from the Eiffel Tower! 🏅🗼
Tonight, we stop by the workshops where they were created. #Paris2024 #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/7wW8JGEZjn
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) July 26, 2024
♦ 11.49 PM: A spectacular performance by the artists was also seen during the floating parade. Around 80 artists performed the famous French cabaret dance ‘Can-Can’.
♦ 11.35 PM: The floating parade started again after Lady Gaga’s show. Players from countries like Bangladesh and Belgium participated in the parade. After this came India’s neighboring country China.
NO ONE WILL EVER DO IT LIKE LADY GAGApic.twitter.com/Lwbj79VDJ7
— pop culture gal (@allurequinn) July 26, 2024
♦ 11.30 PM: Lady Gaga’s memorable performance was seen in the middle of the floating parade. Lady Gaga presented the famous song ‘Mon Truc en Plums’ by late French actress Gigi Jeanmaire. Jeanmaire died in 2020 at the age of 96.
you cant spell lady gaga without GAG pic.twitter.com/jDJ436Xl6o
— pop culture gal (@allurequinn) July 26, 2024
♦ 11.20 PM: France’s turn as host will come last, while the US contingent will be second to last in the parade as Los Angeles is set to host the 2028 Olympic Games. Apart from this, the remaining countries will participate in the parade in alphabetical order.
Deliver the rideau 💦
The Greek delegation opens the athletes’ parade, as is tradition.
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Curtain up 💦
The Greek delegation opens the athletes’ parade, as per tradition dictates.📸 Getty /Jared C. Tilton / Lars Baron#Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/3MN7mySe2A
— Paris 2024 (@Paris2024) July 26, 2024
♦ 11.15 PM: Since the ceremony took place on the banks of the Seine river. In such a situation, instead of doing the traditional march on the athletic track, the players took part in the boat parade with their teammates. Greece led the parade. Then the Refugee Olympic Team, which includes 37 members, stood second in the parade. After this came Afghanistan’s turn.
♦ 11.10 PM: The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics has started. The opening ceremony is taking place on the banks of the Seine River, which is 777 km long.
♦ 10.55 PM: USA won 113 medals including 39 gold in Tokyo Olympics 2020. This time too the USA team is looking very strong and is expected to top the medal table. The flag bearers for the USA at the Paris Olympics are tennis player Coco Gauff and basketball star LeBron James. He was spotted in a white blazer and blue denim.
No stopping Team USA flag bearers @CocoGauff and @KingJames 🇺🇸
📺: @NBCOlympics & @peacock #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/HJ2EXKcJ05
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) July 26, 2024
Let us tell you that India has sent a team of 117 players to the Paris Olympics. The team of these 117 members includes half the players from three sports – athletics (29), shooting (21) and hockey (19). Out of these 69 players, 40 players are participating in the Olympics for the first time. Indian male players appeared in the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics wearing a kurta-bandi set. While the female players were seen in matching sarees depicting the tricolor flag of India. The garments featuring prints inspired by traditional ikat and Banarasi brocade have been designed by Tarun Tahiliani. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also congratulated the Indian team for the Paris Olympics.
As the Paris #Olympics commences, my best wishes to the Indian contingent. Every athlete is India’s pride. May they all shine and embody the true spirit of sportsmanship, inspiring us with their exceptional performances. #Paris2024
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 26, 2024
If seen, for the first time the opening ceremony of the Olympics was not held inside the stadium. The Olympics began in Athens in 1896, so this was the first time in its 128-year history that the traditional parade of the countries participating in these Games took place on the banks of the Seine River, which flows through the center of Paris.
During the opening ceremony, more than 10,000 Olympic athletes passed through the Seine River on about 100 boats. During this, the athletes passed through some of the iconic sites of Paris, including Notre Dame, Pont des Arts, Pont Neuf. The floating parade started from the Austerlitz bridge next to the Jardin des Plantes and ended at the Trocadero. French theater director and actor Thomas Joly is overseeing the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies as artistic director.
Performance of these stars
Celine Dion, Lady Gaga, Aya Nakamura and Gojira attended the opening ceremony. This was Dion’s first performance in many years. He did not perform on stage after recovering from Stiff Person Syndrome. Due to which he had to cancel many live shows. The famous song “My Heart Will Go On” from the movie Titanic was sung by Celine Dion, which is still on people’s lips. Many French artists performed at this ceremony, including pianist Sophieanne Palmart and singer Juliette Armanet. Singer Philippe Catrine and drummer Ceron, opera singer Marina Viotti and heavy metal band Gojira also performed.