Opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games: “We had to remove certain sequences”, the organizers had to adapt to the rain

Des tableaux ont été retirés. XinHua – John Macdougall

The artistic director of the Olympic opening ceremony, Thomas Jolly, acknowledged late Friday night that the show had undergone “modifications” due to the torrential rains that hit Paris, but that in the end, the result was “pretty close” to what he had “conceived”.

“We are coming off an epic day, and a flamboyant crossing of Paris,” he summed up during a press conference almost half an hour after the end of the event. Torrential rain fell practically throughout this grandiose spectacle of almost four hours, concluded by Celine Dion singing “L'hymne à l'amour” by Edith Piaf from the first floor of the Eiffel Tower, and punctuated by several scenic tableaux around and on the Seine.

Precipitation that forced the organizers to adapt. “All the tables were kept, but of course there were changes (…), we had to remove some sequences”, declared Thomas Jolly, explaining that the rain would have made them “dangerous”.

“Quite close to what we designed”

“We reviewed a lot of things during the day (…) the rain really wanted to be there, it actually stopped just after the ceremony", he added. "But only we know what was taken away (…) what was delivered tonight is quite close to what we designed", he continued. The head of the organizing committee, Tony Estanguet, confided that he “enjoyed” and had “a great time”.

“We weren't spared, but in the end the “book” is quite beautiful”, summarized the director of ceremonies for Paris-2024, Thierry Reboul.