Hours before the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening ceremony began, more than a dozen RSJ students and two faculty were on a hunt along the Seine River. Thousands of other spectators marched alongside them past miles of fencing and parked police vans.
The students squeezed next to each other at a barrier on the edge of the river overlooking the Austerlitz Bridge. Olympics rings hung on the painted bridge where the boats carrying Olympians later made their first appearance.
Simon Stone, who moved to France from the United Kingdom, rested on the barrier next to students. He said watching the 1968 Grenoble Winter Olympics as a kid was what inspired him to make the jump across the English Channel.
But, he said he had “mixed feelings” about the security constraints that came with this year’s games.
“Before you could just walk along the River Seine,” Stone said with an English accent. “I usually do that as a daily walk. I was trying to do four or five kilometers a day. But, for the last week or so it’s, you know, you go 500 meters and you have to show your QR code.”
The QR codes he mentioned were a part of the double perimeter security zone put in place around the Seine for the ceremony. Unless they bought the pricey tickets, local residents, workers, and restaurant guests had to scan the codes to get through “red zones.” The red zones included many bridges over the Seine, forcing everyone else to take the metro or go around.
Just as students and Stone got comfortable, police with assault rifles ushered everyone out.
Unbeknownst to students and spectators, officers hadn’t yet staged the area for ticket holders. Still searching for a place to watch the first-of-its-kind outdoor ceremony, the students headed to an Olympics “fan zone” at Arènes de Lutèce. The arena was originally built in the 2nd century and hosted Roman gladiator matches. That Friday, it was a place for hundreds to watch the Olympics kick off on the big screen.
Without a QR code to cross the Seine, the students took a metro ride for what should have been a 20-minute walk.
A line sprawled down the street to the ancient arena nestled amongst more modern housing and shops. The excitement inside echoed over the stone walls, guarded by armed police. The rafters were crammed with people representing nations around the world. In typical French fashion, puffs of cigarette smoke billowed to the sky.
A few drops of rain started to fall, but the audience was glued to the screen as the ceremony began. Deafening cheers filled the air as every nation’s boat came on screen.
Javier, a lone traveler from Chile, jumped with joy when his home country was revealed.
About an hour into the ceremony, the sprinkle turned to a downpour. Umbrellas blocked the massive screen and the dirt floor became mud.
Most RSJ students and the faculty left for “Guru Bar,” which was hosting a much drier watch party back across the river. KUNR’s Kat Fulwider and I lagged behind to gather more shots, huddled beneath the same umbrella.
When we arrived at the metro to catch up, we were met by a crowd packed like sardines behind a closed gate. Lines over the river were shut down during the ceremony — leaving hundreds of riders trapped in the rain — including Parisians just trying to get home.
Like an Olympics game itself, we went wild when the gate opened after nearly 20 minutes. Soaked, we walked into the packed Guru Bar just in time for Celine Dion’s performance.
A silence consumed the bar as the torch started its final relay, passing hands between more than a dozen Olympians.
Then, an eruption of applause as the Olympics cauldron was lit, only growing louder as it floated to the sky.
Cole Payne is a student at the Reynolds School of Journalism. The story was produced in partnership with the school’s 2024 Paris Olympics Program.
This story aired on KUNR FM on Tuesday, Aug. 6.