Discover the photos of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics

With umbrellas outstretched, thousands of athletes and spectators lining the streets of Paris officially kicked off the 2024 Olympic Games Friday.

The ambitious ceremony began with a giant plume of blue, white and red smoke in the colours of the French national flag with the Parade of Nations from the Austerlitz bridge next to the Jardin des Plantes.

Athletes On board boats, they traveled the course of the Seine from east to west, allowing them to see several Olympic sites including the urban park of Concorde, the Invalides and the Grand Palais.

Huge jets of water gushed from the river as the Greek delegation – as always – was the first boat to pass under the bridge and complete the 6-kilometre (3.7-mile) course.

American singer Lady Gaga graced the crowd with a performance on a makeshift yellow staircase in the traditional style of the old French metros.

Around 220,000 invited and security-screened spectators filled the upper banks of the Seine, with an additional 104,000 paying spectators watching from the lower banks and around the Place du Trocadéro.

The parade ended at the Pont d’Iéna, which connects the Eiffel Tower on the left bank of the Seine to the Trocadéro district on the right bank.

Here are some more photos from the event: