No amount of rain in the entire world could have in any way dampened this magnificently unforgettable and audacious parade of Olympic nations.
It was shortly after 9pm local Paris time when the Irish boat first came into our view from just across from the Eiffel Tower, following its short river journey up from Pont d’Austerlitz, and by then the 2024 Olympic organisers had already painted a masterpiece of an Opening Ceremony down along the Seine.
The uniquely ambitious and brilliantly orchestrated likes of which had never been seen before, or indeed may never be seen again.
The first Opening Ceremony in 128 years of modern Olympic history not to take place inside the Olympic Stadium, and the first waterborne anywhere, it began as tradition demands with the Greek Olympic team, the first of the 85 boats appearing on the Seine itself, starting the flotilla of 205 competing delegations, with around 6,000 of the 10,700 athletes.
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They’d all joined in the 6km stretch of artistic fresco and other interludes of dancing celebration down along the river, including Pont Alexandre III, and Pont du Sully, at L’île Saint-Louis, up as far as Trocadéro, just across from the Eiffel Tower, where the athletes then disembarked for the official flag-bearing exercise, in front of around 100 heads of state.
It was Ronnie Delany who first championed the phrase “once an Olympian, always an Olympian”. In our now 100 years of Ireland’s Olympic participation, it remains an utterly unique and honourable distinction, only 911 Irish names so far representing the nation, up to and including the delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Officially starting on Saturday, that number will only now surpass the 1,000 mark, a century on, the 2024 Irish team boasting a record 133 athletes, in 15 Olympic sports.
At lunchtime on Friday, Sarah Lavin and Shane Lowry were named as Ireland’s flag-bearers, and they jointly held that flag as Team Ireland’s boat came into view, number 36 of the 85 boats in the parade, sharing that berth with Iraq.
“It is the greatest honour I have ever been given, and I would even go so far as to say, probably any Olympic athlete ever could be given,” said Lavin, who will compete in the 100m hurdles for the second time.
For Lowry, who will also compete in his second Olympics in golf, that honour felt similarly unique.
“It’s a huge honour for me and my family. You know, anybody that knows me knows how patriotic I am and how much I love Ireland and how much I love my country.
“It is something I’m not sure you’d even dream about, as a kid because, it’s so far out there that it does not seem achievable. But to get to do something like that is a huge honour for me.”
Also on the Irish boat were 18 other Irish Olympians in Paris, including Rachael Darragh (badminton), Jake Passmore and Ciara McGing (diving), Noel Hendrick, Liam Jegou, and twins sisters Michaela and Madison Corcoran (canoeing), Shane Sweetnam, Daniel Coyle and Abigail Lyle (equestrian), Eve McMahon and Finn Lynch (sailing), Jack Woolley (taekwondo), and Michaela Walsh, Daina Moorhouse and Jennifer Lehane (boxing).
Speaking later French president Emmanuel Macron said: “This moment of togetherness between humanity, our athletes and our artists will have one overriding goal. To usher in a new Olympic era, with an emphasis on sustainability, parity and building the future.
“Through this ceremony, our country will show the world what it is. Because France is not just the product of history, heritage, and culture passed down through the centuries. It is an epic tale, a constant quest for freedom and progress. True to its history, and like this exceptional ceremony, it is universal.
“Let the party begin.”
Paris for sure is now ready for these Games, waiting a century to welcome them back since 1924, and with 95 per cent of the competition venues pre-existing at iconic city sites, it seems no city is already embracing more of its own self than Paris.
“The Olympic Games of Paris 2024 will be younger, more inclusive, more urban, and more sustainable,” said Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
“These will be the very first Olympic Games with full gender parity because the IOC allocated exactly 50 per cent of the quota places to female athletes and to male athletes . . . In this Olympic spirit, I wish you an unforgettable experience and a successful Olympic Games Paris.”
No better note to let the Games begin.
