Opening ceremony lights up Paris in unique style

The 2024 Olympics opened in Paris in spectacular style with thousands of athletes sailing along the River Seine past lively performers on bridges, banks and rooftops in an ambitious take on an opening ceremony. Swapping a stadium for a waterway for the first time to open the “greatest show on Earth”, the near four-hour spectacle culminated in French judo great Teddy Riner and sprinter Marie-Jose Perec lighting a cauldron shaped like a hot air balloon that rose high into the Parisian sky.