Paris Olympics’ Opening Ceremony Gets Mixed Reviews but Made Me Weep
The Paris Olympics are off to a rip-roaring start now that the Opening Ceremony has finished. Every Olympics, people cautiously wonder what the host city will have in store for audiences around the world, be it awkward and cringe or awesomely jaw-dropping. So, how did Paris do in 2024? “The opening ceremony simply wasn’t great TV,” wrote Dominic Patten of Deadline, “essentially an overripe tourism ad for the City of Lights.” Emily Watkins of iNews, meanwhile, called it “an insane cabaret of clichs.” What Opening Ceremony did they watch? I thought it was a gorgeous love letter to Paris, the history of the Olympics, and humanity in general. I ugly-cried through moments I thought I’d cynically roll my eyes at. Bravo.