Opening Olympics extravaganza will get underway after day of chaos

The opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is officially underway, with 320,000 excited spectators crowding the banks of the River Seine after a series of scandals threatened to overshadow France’s showpiece event.

Organisers will be praying that tonight’s carefully choreographed parade, which kicked off at 6.30pm UK time, will go smoothly after a ‘massive arson attack’ brought mayhem to France‘s rail network today.

The ‘co-ordinated acts of malice’ on high-speed rail lines across the Channel has left sport fans facing travel chaos, with snaking queues forming at St Pancras today as Eurostar trains were delayed or axed.

Eurostar has told customers to cancel their trips today if they can – advice which was echoed by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who was seen sat in the second row of the hospitality section after travelling to France by plane instead of his planned route from St Pancras.

In a major blow to Olympics organisers, Eurostar delays are set to last until Monday, with one in four trains due to be cancelled today and over the weekend. 

French officials will be hoping all will be forgotten when Lady Gaga and Celine Dion take to the stage to perform a duet during a four-hour ceremony which is set to be watched by more than a billion people.

There were fears that torrential downpours could put a dampener on the start of the parade, as athletes are carried down the River Seine in a massive flotilla leaving from the Pont d’Austerlitz bridge, yet clouds appears to have now cleared.

More than 600,000 people are attending the Opening Ceremony including a huge string of famous faces, including pop star Arianna Grande, Tennis champion Serena Williams and Hollywood royalty Stephen Spielberg. 

A number of famous faces, including pop star Arianna Grande, Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour and renowned director Baz Lurthmann were spotted arriving with umbrellas in tow as they get ready to watch the ceremony. 

Hollywood actress Zendaya, Rolling Stone rick icon Mick Jagger, basketball player LeBron James, actor Zac Efron, actress Queen Latifia, and rapper Snoop Dogg, were also seen in the crowd.

There will be total of 320,000 spectators watching across 124 grandstands. There were 222,000 free tickets available to watch the £115million parade from the upper banks and 104,000 paid-for tickets on the lower quays.

A flotilla of up 100 boats carrying athletes from more than 200 countries will sail through the River Seine in the heart of Paris with Team GB diver Tom Daley and rower Helen Glover waving the Union Flag to the crowd. 

The route has been split into 12 sections: Enchanté; Synchronicity; Liberty; Equality; Fraternity; Sisterhood; Sportsmanship; Festivity; Darkness; Solidarity; Solemnity and Eternity. 

The parade will end in front of the Trocadero, opposite the iconic Eiffel Tower, where the Olympic cauldron will be lit and the final shows will take place. 

Dignitaries including US First Lady Jill Biden, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Olaf Schultz and various members of European royalty will be President Emmanuel Macron’s special guests by the Eiffel Tower. 

French actress Laetitia Casta, Pharell Williams and legendary French hip-hop singer MC Solar are also expected to take part in the show.

Princess Anne, President of the British Olympic Association, will be watching the ceremony from the UK’s only hospitality venue by the Arc de Triomphe, known as Team GB House.

Today’s travel chaos, which follow 200 days of meticulous rehearsals, was the latest drama to engulf the Olympics.

Parisian Hermance Bonjasson, 42, who spoke to MailOnline as she waited for a replacement train to take her to the Vendee on the Atlantic coast, said: ‘I’m embarrassed that the world see us like this. This should be a very proud day for France, not a day for sadness and annoyance.’ 

It comes after Team GB dressage star Charlotte Dujardin was forced to pull out of the Games on Monday amid a whipping scandal.

Dujardin, who was hoping to become Britain’s most decorated Olympian in Paris, was banned from competing by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) after footage emerged of her whipping a horse 24 times ‘like a circus elephant’. 

The 39-year-old claimed she made an ‘error of judgement’ and is ‘deeply ashamed’ of her actions.’ 

The Netherlands have also found themselves under the spotlight after convicted rapist Steven van de Velde was selected for their volleyball team. 

The athlete was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 after pleading guilty to raping a 12-year-old girl when he was 19.

He will not be staying at the Olympic Village and comments defending him from his team-mates have stirred further controversy. 

Former marathon world champion Paula Radcliffe also apologised after she wished him the ‘best of luck’.

‘I am mortified that I expressed it so badly and didn’t condemn the rape out loud,’ said Radcliffe.

Earlier, in an interview with radio station LBC on Wednesday, she said: ‘I know that he is married now and has settled down.

‘I think it’s a tough thing to do to punish him twice and if he’s managed to successfully turn his life around after being sent to prison, and to qualify and to be playing sport at the highest level, then I actually wish him the best of luck.’

She was speaking about doping offenders being allowed to compete again after serving bans.

Today, another doping row reached boiling point as leading swimmers condemned the ‘failed’ China anti-doping investigation.

Caeleb Dressel, a seven-time Olympic gold medallist said he did not have confidence in the case involving positive drug tests from 23 Chinese athletes in the run-up to the last Olympics.

Earlier this month, an independent report backed the decision not to dispute the Chinese authorities’ claims that the swimmers ingested trimetazidine (TMZ) by contamination.

Eleven of those swimmers will compete for China in Paris.

When quizzed on whether he had confidence there was a level playing field in Paris, US swimming great Dressel said: ‘No, not really. I don’t think they have given us enough evidence to support them in how this case was handled.’

Details of the case were first made public in April, having not been shared at the time in 2021.

The World Anti-doping Agency (Wada) said it was ‘not in a position to disprove’ the conclusion made by the China Anti-Doping Agency (Chinada) and chose not to appeal.

In another scandal, Canada was forced to sack two staff members from their women’s football team after they used a drone to fly over and film the training sessions of rivals New Zealand. 

French organisers will be hoping the dust will settle as the opening ceremony marks the official start of the games.

That’s despite some of the action got underway two days prior on Wednesday. 

The ceremony is an integral part of them Games; not only does it mark the start but it is an opportunity for people to discover the culture of the host country through music, dance and fireworks.

A total of 6,800 athletes – representing 206 countries – and close to 120 heads of states, sovereigns and heads of government will attend and participate in the ceremony.

The scope, size and overall spectacle of the opening ceremony improves every tournament, with each host nation bidding to out do the last and Paris will be no different.

For the first time, the opening ceremony will be held outside of a closed stadium, with Paris hosting a water parade for the Olympics.

During the parade, there will be over 2,000 artists, 1,000 loudspeakers and 1,800 costumers with the delegations and passengers passing by on the boats.

Although the floating parade was originally planned as a people’s party along the banks, the French police have intervened and for security reasons most spectators will be assigned to an area or allocated seats in fenced-off areas for the ceremony. 

Each country will debut their athletes with one of their most prolific names holding their national or regional flags at the beginning of the ceremony. 

Greece traditionally debut first as a nod to where the Olympics first originated, with the host country being last to feature.

The Olympic anthem will then ring out after the head of state of the host country announces the commencement of the Games.

The iconic Olympic flame will then be brought forward for the lighting of the main torch which is the culmination of the opening ceremony as well as the release of doves, symbolising peace amongst all countries.

Andy Murray will be among 39 Team GB competitors waving from the top of their vessel.

Each member will wear an exclusive Ben Sherman bomber jacket, featuring motifs of the national flowers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The river’s historic quays have replaced the stands, and thousands of spectators will turn out to watch this unprecedented show, which will include performances on the city bridges.

The show is expected to climax in a lazer spectacular ending shortly after 11pm.

Bars and restaurants across Paris have been granted special permission to stay open until dawn for the city to revel in the party atmosphere.

Artistic Director of the ceremonies, Thomas Jolly, has recruited France’s best choreographers, composers, couturiers, circus performers, singers and up-and-coming talents to offer the world a glimpse into French culture.

He said: ‘This Ceremony is a reflection of the Games of Paris 2024, breaking conventions and inviting the unexpected with myriads of references, surprises, hints to French culture.

‘Dive into a merry and playful whirlwind as the first boats of the Parade of Athletes approach. Get ready for a journey through time and emotions.’

Opening the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, President Macron, of France, will say: ‘A century after the 1924 Games, our City of Light is being reunited with its Olympic ambitions in the most spectacular fashion.

‘The Opening Ceremony on the Seine River on 26 July will be an unprecedented spectacle in front of 300,000 people, with billions more watching on TV around the world.

‘It will kick off a 16-day competition which will mark history and leave a lasting legacy.

‘Like the events to come, it will combine the beauty of our heritage with that of the spectacle.

‘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 which you will witness, it is universal.

‘Let the party begin!’

Meanwhile Mayor of Paris, Anne Higaldo, will say: ‘Paris is extremely proud to be hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2024.

‘They will be a communal celebration of sporting excellence, and an unforgettable moment of public festivity, with the Opening Ceremony laying the foundation stone.

‘The stands will move from the stadium to the riverbanks, giving way to an exceptional stage right in the heart of Paris. We will watch the parade of athletes from all countries, the mosaic of colours of all the flags, marching under the common banner of the Olympic values.

‘This global event has been made possible by meticulous preparations and an ambitious long-term approach, which began in 2016 with the opening of the riverbanks to pedestrians.’

On a day of excitement and chaos, US rapper Snoog Dogg carried the Olympic torch through Paris earlier on Friday – as viewers joked that it resembled a giant cannabis joint.

The rapper – famous the world over for his love of marijuana – is in Paris as a special correspondent for US TV network NBC and carried the Olympic flame on a short run around the Stade de France this morning.

For Paris 2024, Olympic organisers turned to French designer Mathieu Lehanneur, who said he drew inspiration from the themes of ‘equality, water and peacefulness’ in creating the curved steel beacon, which has ripples on its lower half.

But viewers watching Snoop – real name Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr – immediately thought of something else associated with the rapper as it burned at one end: a rippling cannabis joint.

Concerns over security have led to the biggest military and police operation in France in peacetime.

Surface-to-air missiles and 75,000 police, army and security guards are part of the largest peacetime deployment of force in France’s history for the Olympics opening ceremony.

Teams of frogmen have been sweeping the River Seine for explosives in the past few days, while drones and a police surveillance helicopter whirred above them, and demining units scoured quays and nearby streets.

Around 250 British officers and 50 police dogs will be in France during the Olympics, as part of the £350 million security operation.

In another blow to organisers, France’s metrological office has issues a yellow alert, warning of rain and flooding in Paris. One meteorologist has described it as a ‘disaster’. 

Some Parisians have forsaken the annual exodus from the capital to the country’s beaches and mountains to watch the Games.

Among them are Marcel and Jeanne, a middle-aged couple from Montmartre.

Marcel, 42, an insurance broker said: ‘Normally Paris is empty in August because everyone goes on holiday, and we do same.

‘But this year we have decided to stay and watch some of the events.’