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PARIS (AP) — Drizzles, sprinkles and then full-on, nonstop rain drenched the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. Ponchos, tarps and Eiffel Tower-patterned umbrellas weren't enough to protect the soggy but cheering crowds watching the show on the banks of the choppy Seine River.
It's been an unusually wet year for Paris, and Friday proved no exception — an especially wet July day for the unprecedented open-air Olympics extravaganza.
The skies were gray with intermittent drizzle throughout the afternoon. They cleared as the ceremony began, but rains picked up as the procession advanced down the river. Spectators along the river that runs through the heart of the city pulled on hoods and umbrellas as it started up again.
“Do you guys have ponchos to give out?” one man asked an Olympic volunteer.
The mood in the stands remained lively and people danced despite the droplets to music echoing over the river. But as the rain grew heavier, a trickle of spectators began to file out of the ceremony. Others ducked under trees.
Paris resident Sophie Peret called the opening ceremony a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience and came prepared for rain with a poncho and an umbrella.
“We know Paris,” she said with a laugh, adding: “Even if it’s raining, we’re happy to be here.”
The rain soaked dancers on Paris rooftops, a catwalk show spanning the river, breakdancers spinning precariously on slippery floating platforms, grand pianos, VIPs watching the show and world-famous torchbearers lighting the Olympic cauldron.
Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes paraded on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Only a few thousand stayed for the final performance, many apparently deterred by the downpour.
Though 10,700 athletes are expected to compete at these Olympics, hundreds of soccer players are based outside Paris, surfers are in Tahiti and many have yet to arrive for their events in the second week, organizers said Thursday.
Some 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders were expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes paraded along the river on boats.
The ceremony was always planned to go ahead — rain or not. There was a silver lining, though, with temperatures staying relatively warm throughout the evening.
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Associated Press writers Megan Janetsky and John Leicester contributed reporting.
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Follow AP coverage of the Olympics at https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
