It was indicated in the weather forecasts, but no one expected that the rain would become the party crasher of the Opening Ceremony of the Paris Olympics, which took place during the afternoon and evening of this Friday, and had as a great novelty the parade of delegations on boats that sailed down the River Seine from the Austerlitz Bridge to Trocadero, where the Eiffel Tower is located.
The first delegations, which appear in alphabetical order according to the language of the local country, had to endure a light rain, but those that paraded at the end suffered a real downpour.
In addition to that, the parade was not continuous, as at some points it was interrupted to highlight some of the many artistic shows that made up two-thirds of the Ceremony.
The suits got wet and barely stood out
Being in Paris, the fashion capital, the vast majority of the delegations made an effort to have outfits for the fashion show that were up to the occasion.
However, many of them were spoiled by the rain or barely seen due to the umbrellas and capes that the athletes, like those from Japan, used to avoid getting wet in the parade that took 40 minutes by boat and covered six kilometers.
Although most boats had two levels, athletes were almost always seen on deck.
The rain also seemed to complicate the legends' boat, in a faster boat, where Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Nadia Comaneci, and Carl Lewis were, and they transported the flame back from Trocadero to the Louvre for the final stage of the Ceremony.
Are there risks of catching a cold?
Most of the athletes got wet on a spring evening with a temperature of around 22°C, which obviously increases the risk of catching a cold. Many of these athletes are already in competition, such as the soccer players, and others will make their debut tomorrow.
For this reason, after the boat ride, many of them immediately returned to the Olympic Village and did not stay in Trocadero for the speeches, oaths, raising of the Olympic flag, and the official opening of the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad.
In fact, when Zinedine Zidane started the last relay with the Olympic flame and handed it over to Rafa Nadal, only a few dozen athletes out of the thousands who were part of the parade were left. The Chilean delegation, for example, was one of those that returned in full to the Olympic Village.