Thousands of athletes and spectators who lined the streets of Paris officially kicked off the 2024 Olympics in a colourful opening ceremony on Friday.

The opening ceremony kicked off 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 beside the Jardin des Plantes.

French athletes

Team Nigeria and other athletes aboard boats traveled the course of the Seine River from east to west, getting a glimpse of several Olympic venues including the La Concorde Urban Park, Invalides and the Grand Palais.

Giant jets of water spurted up from the river as the Greek delegation — as always — was the first boat under the bridge and along the 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) route.

Famous Olympic rings

About 220,000 invited and security-screened spectators filled the upper tiers of the Seine’s banks, and an additional 104,000 paying spectators watched from the lower riverside and around the Trocadéro plaza.

The parade ended at the Iena Bridge, which links the Eiffel Tower on the left bank of the Seine to the Trocadéro district on the right bank.

Thomas Bach, IOC president

As it the tradition, French flagbearers Florent Manaudou and Mélina Robert-Michon took the Olympic Oath on behalf of all Paris 2024 athletes, a tradition that dates back to Antwerp 1920.

French flagbearers Florent Manaudou and Mélina Robert-Michon take the Olympic Oath on behalf of all Paris 2024 athletes, a tradition that dates back to Antwerp 1920.