October 04, 2024 11:02 (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
Supreme Court halts police action against Sadhguru's Isha Foundation | Telangana minister apologises to Samantha-Naga Chaitanya over 'divorce' remark'; KTR still on target | Doctor shot dead at Delhi hospital amid protests over RG Kar rape-murder | Our commitment to cleanliness is a lifelong pledge: PM Modi as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan completes 10 years | PM Modi participates in cleanliness drive as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan completes 10 years
'Dream with us': IOC President delivers message of hope as rain fails to dampen Paris Olympics' unique style opening ceremony
Paris 2024
Image credit: IOC official website

'Dream with us': IOC President delivers message of hope as rain fails to dampen Paris Olympics' unique style opening ceremony

| @indiablooms | 27 Jul 2024, 03:15 pm

Paris/IBNS: International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach delivered the message of hope in the Olympics 2024's opening ceremony on Friday (July 26) as persistent rain failed to ruin excitement of the never-seen-before Paris parade.

"I invite everybody: Dream with us. Like the Olympic athletes, be inspired with the joy that only sport can give us. Let us celebrate this Olympic spirit of living life in peace, as the one and only humankind, united in all our diversity," Thomas Bach said.

"This is why tonight, with my heart full of emotions, I invite the whole world: let us celebrate this joy of sport together with all the athletes," the IOC President added. "Have faith in the future. Together, let us celebrate the best of our shared humanity."

Bach said there is no "global south" or "global north" in the world of Olympics.

"We all respect the same rules and each other. In our Olympic world, we all belong," he said.

"As Olympians, we care for each other. We do not only respect each other, we live in solidarity with each other. All of you have experienced this and benefitted from our Olympic solidarity on your long journey to finally becoming Olympians," the IOC President added.

Cracking a joke on the rain during the unique style opening ceremony, head of the Paris Olympic Tony Estanguet said, "When you love the Games, first of all you don’t let a 'few drops' of rain bother you."

Image credit: Olympics.comImage credit: Olympics.com

"Thank you to all those lovers of the Games who are with us – a little soggy – tonight!” Tony Estanguet, the President of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, said in his speech during the opening ceremony.

"We have been bold, doing things that have never been done before, like having this Opening Ceremony in the city, for the first time in the history of the Olympic Games," Estanguet said.

"For the next 16 days, you will be the best version of humanity," he added.

The Olympic Games, regarded as the greatest show on Earth, stood true to its legendary tagline with a grand and spectacular 2024 opening ceremony in Paris bracing the rains as American pop star Lady Gaga among others rocked the occasion delivering an iconic performance.

Image credit: Facebook/Olympics Image credit: Facebook/Olympics

This was the first Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games to be held outside a stadium, and the whole city of Paris turned into a massive stadium and theater.

The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games began with the 'Parade of the Nations' in which athletes from 205 countries sailed down the iconic Seine river on boats, marking a dreamy break from tradition despite rain threatening to play spoilsport.

The athlete parade this time took place on boats along the Seine and passed several iconic Parisian landmarks.

Image credit: Facebook/Olympics Image credit: Facebook/Olympics

More than 10,000 athletes made their appearances on about 100 boats along River Seine, passing by iconic Parisian landmarks, including Notre Dame, Pont des Arts, and Pont Neuf, while the floating parade departs from the Austerlitz bridge beside the Jardin des Plantes and end at the Trocadéro.

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.