The big show on the Seine: “Long live the Olympic Games!”

The world has never seen anything like it. The metropolis of Paris opened the Summer Games with the most spectacular and pompous celebration in Olympic history. Many of the estimated 320,000 fans – mostly on the banks of the Seine, spread across 124 stands – braved the heavy rain and cheered on the 6,800 athletes and 206 delegations “dancing” across the river in around 180 boats. And not only them. The mega show was both a sporting event and artistic highlight.

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