Olympic opening ceremony in Paris
Newshour
BBC
4.2 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 26 July 2024
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics is underway, with a flotilla of boats taking the athletes down the River Seine as an accordionist plays Piaf on a bridge. The rain has for now abated, sparing the hundreds of thousands of spectators gathered on the quays and bridges. Meanwhile, the French intelligence services are hunting those who disrupted the Olympic festivities by sabotaging the high-speed rail lines into Paris -- also affecting locals setting off for the summer holidays.
Hospital staff in Bangladesh say plain-clothes police have taken away three leaders of the recent student protests. They were being treated in Dhaka for injuries allegedly sustained in custody.
And we will hear about the nationwide women only student organization in America, that Kamala Harris hopes will help her win the presidency.
(Photo: A torchbearer runs atop the Musee d'Orsay during the opening ceremony. Credit: REUTERS/Peter Cziborra)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to Newsar from the BBC World Service |
| 0:07.2 | coming to you live from our studios in Central London I'm Julian Marshall. |
| 0:11.3 | The opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics is underway, not in a closed stadium |
| 0:18.8 | but in the open with a flotiller of boats carrying the athletes through Central Paris on the River |
| 0:25.2 | Sen with spectators crowding the banks and bridges along with musicians, dancers |
| 0:31.3 | and performers among them Lady Gaga. |
| 0:34.8 | And within the past hour, the center of the city and the river |
| 0:38.1 | have been illuminated by a spectacular fireworks and light display. |
| 0:44.0 | The BBC's Hugh Schofield spoke to me earlier from a very rainy Paris, had the weather dampened |
| 0:50.5 | spirits. |
| 0:51.5 | Well, no, no, I mean it is pouring with freedom afraid. |
| 0:57.2 | One has to be honest about it, you know, luckily it's on the river so wetness is already a kind of part of it all but it is it is |
| 1:04.0 | really pouring down and no one seems to be letting that get in the way of |
| 1:08.6 | enjoying the spectacle because it's you know it's good it's all going on and watching the North Macedonians come down now we just |
| 1:15.8 | had the Lithuanians and you know it's all proceeding as planned. |
| 1:20.4 | Everyone seems to be waving their flags cheerfully and everyone's decked out in their |
| 1:25.8 | costumes and the crowds are cheering but they've got their umbrellas up and they're all wearing |
| 1:31.3 | little plastic max as well so you |
| 1:33.6 | know it you know the rain is a bit of a factor it has to be said and the athletes on |
| 1:39.0 | the boats they're making the most of it. Oh yes, absolutely. |
| 1:44.0 | They're the Madagascar's going down. |
| 1:46.0 | I mean, it's a great display of, you know, all the nations in the world, |
... |
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