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Paris Olympics: Lady Gaga wows, Celine Dion thrills at opening ceremony - as it happened

A 4-hour extravaganza takes in a host of themes, with organisers saying love and togetherness was the overriding message

The cauldron, with the Olympic flame lit, lifts off while attached to a balloon, as the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics draws to a close. Photo: AFP

SCMP Sport

Published: 11:03pm, 26 Jul 2024Updated: 6:40am, 27 Jul 2024

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Introduction

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Years of planning, training and preparing have all led up to this moment. The 2024 Paris Olympics are officially get under way, and for the next two weeks we’ll be here with live coverage of what’s happening in and around the Games.

Not content with the usual opening ceremony, the French opted for a 4-hour extravaganza involving boat rides, dancers on Notre Dame and hundreds of thousands of spectators lining the River Seine.

Hong Kong’s flag was carried by Cheung Ka-long and Siobhan Haughey, and the city’s delegation rode down the river sandwiched in between Honduras and Hungary.

We know it was Friday night, or Saturday morning depending on when you joined us, so thank you for following along, and if you missed anything, you can read about it as it happened, right here.

More from our coverage:

- From land to Seine: a visual guide to historic Paris Olympics opening ceremony

- 5 controversial moments in Olympics history, including dirtiest race ever

- China-made goods shine at Paris Olympics amid lack of ‘comparable competitors’

Reporting by Mike Chan and Paul McNamara in Paris, and Josh Ball, Tom Bell, Lars Hamer, Ira Gorawara and Meredith Chen in Hong Kong