As Paris prepares for the opening ceremony of the Olympics on July 26 with what promises to be a spectacular parade of boats along the river Seine, AFP looks back at memorable Olympics curtainraisers of the past.
On April 6, 1896, the first modern Olympic Games opened in the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, newly restored in white marble, in front of 80,000 spectators, some in traditional Greek attire, others in suits.
