Paris 2024 Olympic Games Officially Begin With Opening Ceremony Across River Seine

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games officially began with a Friday opening ceremony across the River Seine.

“Prologue. We must bring the Olympic Torch back to Paris,” Paris 2024 official website said on X.

“It accidentally arrived at Stade de France. It is awaited by thousands of athletes and spectators on the river Seine. Thank you, Zinedine Zidane,” it added.

Team Kenya, led by Malkia strikers captain Triza Atuka and African fastest man in 100m Ferdinand Omanyala, was among the over 200 countries which paraded across River Seine during the opening ceremony of the 33rd Olympic Games held on Friday night along river Seine in the French capital Paris.

Kenyan contingent of athletes and officials wore their red Maasai ceremonial kits.

During the 19 days of competition, 329 events will take place during the 2024 Summer Olympics from July 26 to Aug. 11.

The Games will bring together over 10,500 athletes competing in 32 sports, aiming to bag 329 medals.

The colorful ceremony, which was being held out of its traditional venue inside the stadium, saw nearly 7,000 athletes sail using more than 80 boats in a six kilometer distance across the river.

The Olympic flag was flown in front of the famous Eiffel Tower in Paris, while superstar pop singers Aya Nakamura, Lady Gaga, and Celine Dion braved torrential rain to give stunning performances.

Lady Gaga opened the program with a rendition of a beloved French cabaret song, Aya Nakamura, a Franco-Malian singer, delivered her hit song “Djadja,” and Céline Dion, perched atop Paris’s iconic Eiffel Tower, announced the lighting of the Olympic cauldron with Edith Piaf’s “Hymne à l’amour”.

PARIS, FRANCE – JULY 26: A general view as The Horsewoman crosses the Iena Bridge to the Place du Trocadero, as Flags of Competing Nations are presented during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on July 26, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Olympic legends Carl Lewis, Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal and Nadia Comaneci carried the Olympic torch aloft as they raced across the Seine in a speedboat before handing it to tennis great Amélie Mauresmo.