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Two masked figures featured in the Olympics opening ceremony in Paris, first as a mysterious torchbearer ran across rooftops before a caped rider galloped down the Seine on a metal horse to deliver the Olympic flag.
The rider, Floriane Issert, a non-commissioned officer in the Gendarmerie Nationale clad in silver armour, concluded her ride at the Trocadero, giving the Olympic flag a majestic entrance before it was hoisted - although the wrong way round.
Earlier, a figure wearing a black cloak, white hood and with their face covered by a dark fencing mask was heavily featured in the three-hour ceremony produced by director Thomas Jolly, and which included appearances from Lady Gaga, Zinedine Zidane and, for some reason, The Minions.
The spectacle saw 85 boats carry almost 7,000 athletes from 205 countries down the River Seine, which came just hours after a sabotage attack on the high-speed rail networks caused travel chaos across France.
The opening ceremony was the first in Olympics history to be featured outside of the main stadium, and kicked off with Zidane running across Paris to bring the flame to the start of the procession.
The torch was then picked up by a group of children and carried onto the Seine in a small boat, before the mysterious torchbearer leaped across buildings and past monuments.
Zidane then met the masked torchbearer at the very end of the ceremony, with the disguised figure handing the torch back to the French football legend - before disappearing without revealing their identity.
Before then, galloping on a metal horse, a rider rode down the Seine and the course of the ceremony, draped in a cape emblazoned with the Olympic rings. As she passed under the Parisian bridges, the rider unfurled dove wings.
Elsewhere, Lady Gaga sang a French cabaret song near Notre-Dame cathedral, a giant plume of blue, white and red smoke was sent high above a bridge over the Seine and a winged man played accordion as the Olympics’ opening ceremony got under way in Paris on Friday.
A fleet of barges took athletes on a 6 km-stretch of the river, alongside some of the French capital’s most famous landmarks, as Lady Gaga, surrounded by dancers, sang "Mon truc en plumes" (My thing made of feathers).
Huge applause rang out for the Greek boat - the first one, by tradition - and even bigger cheers erupted for the boat that followed, carrying the refugees’ team.
Fountains threw up jets of water in the middle of the Seine as the boats went by, with athletes waving at the crowds, amid a huge visible police presence.
Spectators were treated to more postcard-like depictions of France as a huge cancan line performed by Moulin Rouge cabaret dancers on the banks.
Celine Dion made a comeback to the live stage singing Edith Piaf’s classic “L’Hymne A l’Amour” to close the opening ceremony. The 56-year-old said in late 2022 that she had been diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder called stiff-person syndrome that causes muscle spasms.
The syndrome causes muscle rigidity and increased sensitivity to sound, touch and emotional stimuli that can trigger spasms. The condition led the multiple Grammy winner to cancel all of her tour dates for 2023 and 2024. The Canadian singer, who started her career singing in French, has not performed live since March 2020, when she appeared in New Jersey.
Includes reporting from Reuters
