Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Seine River criticised as ‘worst ceremony’ ever

Team New Zealand waved their flag on a boat on the River Seine during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Photo / Getty

The opening ceremony is one of the most anticipated parts of the Olympics, so much so tickets for a front-row seat by the Seine can cost upwards of $5000.

However, those who watched it from their couch at home were probably better off according to a viral video shared by a French photographer in Paris.

The video, which has been viewed more than 29.2 million times, was shared by Parisian photographer Raphael Metivet, and showed the reality of what the opening ceremony looked like.

“POV: You buy a 1600€ ($2900) ticket for the Olympics opening ceremony and this is what you see,” read the text overlaid on the video, which showed boats passing by on the river between a colourfully lit fountain and spectators looking unimpressed while holding umbrellas and wearing raincoats.

Tickets to the opening ceremony reportedly cost €90 to €2700 ($167 to $5900).

“TV vs reality I guess,” the photographer wrote in the caption, adding that there were none of the dancers, singers or animations people saw on television.

“We saw the athletes passing in front of us on a boat and that’s it. People left before the end of the ceremony because there was nothing happening.”

The most popular response, which received almost 75,000 likes, suggested this should not be surprising.

“The opening ceremony was a true reflection of Paris: overhyped, underwhelming, disappointing and not to be repeated,” they wrote in the comments.

One person said this was a perfect example of how some events shouldn’t be seen live.

“When are people going to learn that some events are produced for TV and not for live performances… Olympics are one of them, the Eurovision also,” they commented.

However, several people said it wasn’t much better on a screen, suggesting it was “horrible” and had “nothing to do with the spirit of the Olympics”. Another described it as the “worst ceremony in the history of the Olympics”.

Some expressed surprise that you had to purchase an additional ticket to watch the opening ceremony.

“Part of the city was severely restricted starting from 13:00 on the day of the opening ceremony,” one person wrote, claiming that those without a ticket could not go close to parts of the Seine where the ceremony took place.

Without a ticket or a permit to walk in certain areas, you would not be able to go close to the parts of the Seine where the ceremony was held.