Watch: Arrivals for Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Watch as ParisOlympics athletes and guests arrived for the opening ceremony on Friday, 26 July.

For the first time in the Summer Games' history, the event’s curtain-raiser was not held inside a stadium.

Instead, the spectacle - which was expected to draw more than a billion viewers around the world - took place along the River Seine.

Dozens of boats carried thousands of athletes and performers on a 6km route along the water passing iconic landmarks such as the Notre-Dame and the Eiffel Tower.

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo swam in the Seine, fulfilling a promise to try to convince doubters that its waters will be clean enough to hold Olympic swimming events.

Organisers have invested €1.4bn ($1.5bn) to improve the cleanliness of the Seine for the Games and to ensure Parisians have a cleaner river in the years after it finishes.

The opening ceremony comes following a day of travel chaos in Paris after thousands of visitors were delayed.

Arson attacks on key rail lines into the French capital had “sabotaged” the network, leading to disruption across the country, the country’s rail operator said.

The “coordinated” disruption is likely to cause delays over the weekend for 800,000 passengers, with up to 250,000 affected as the Games officially starts.