The Olympics opening ceremony had a lot going on — and viewers in the early going were confused.
Whiplashing from a techno can-can line, to a metal opera number, to sponcon for Louis Vuitton, and a loosely strung-together narrative featuring an Assassin’s Creed-like figure carrying the torch through Paris, viewers watching the televised event Friday afternoon voiced steady perplexity toward the ongoing large-scale display.
There was a pastel pink rat, a decapitated Marie Antoinette, a Lady Gaga performance, paintings from the Louvre coming to life, industrial modern dance, the Minions, a rain-soaked pianist, and many, many more chapters in the winding surrealist performance.
On X (formerly Twitter), viewers voiced their uncertainty over the ceremony and what was happening as the segments continued to unfold.
Of course, all these theatrics were taking place as Olympic delegations waved from their boats as they sailed down the nearly 4-mile stretch of the Seine River in unrelenting rain, their opening ceremony outfits covered with ponchos.
According to the Olympics, the opening ceremony — which lasted about four hours — was artistically directed by Thomas Jolly, a native of Rouen, Normandy, who’s known for his work in theater. Jolly is also leading the Paralympic Games’ opening ceremony and the two closing ceremonies.
Hosts of the ceremony said Jolly aimed to “lean into the clichés about France” with the elaborate opening number.
Jolly was tasked to tell the story of France, its people, their history, and essence in a way that stays with audiences, the Associated Press reported.
While the ceremony might have seemed somewhat chaotic and confusing at the start, the ending was an emotional stunner with the Olympic cauldron in the shape of a hot-air balloon lit in Tuileries Gardens and then floating above the City of Light as Celine Dion delivered a powerful rendition of “Hymne à l’amour” from below the Eiffel Tower.
It was her first public performance in nearly four years as she battles a rare neurological disorder known as stiff person syndrome. It left Kelly Clarkson in tears and struggling for words in her role as one of NBC’s opening ceremony commentators.
