Olympics viewers left making the same complaint about 'awful' opening ceremony

The opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games has been widely panned by viewers with many complaining about the use of boats in the event.

The ceremony, the vision of artistic director Thomas Jolly, for the first time ever was not in a sports stadium but instead took place on the River Seine, which runs through the heart of the French capital.

The performances, which included an appearance by Lady Gaga, took part in conjunction with the athlete's parade, which made for a jarring juxtaposition at times, especially when French metal band Gojira backed a singing headless version of Marie Antoniette, as seen above.

However, rather than walking and soaking in the atmosphere from the huge crowds, the athletes who did attend the ceremony were left to greet crowds on boats that slowly floated along the river, which was being pelted with rain.

Many viewers were left disappointed by this and felt that it didn't capture the experience of previous opening ceremonies. One person wrote: "I’m sorry but this has to be the worst Olympic opening ceremony in memory. It’s an interesting idea bringing the athletes in on boats but it looks rubbish and misses the roar of the crowd. Sorry but not for me."

Another echoed this viewing, writing: "The Olympics opening ceremony is utterly underwhelming. Complete misjudgment to do it on the river. No focal point to create any spectacle. It's just a load of those awful Eurovision intro videos and a lot of boats. Shame. Bring on the sport."

A third added: "No offence France, but the boat idea was a terrible one."

A fourth viewer complained: "No sense of atmosphere. No sense of actual real people being there. It just looks like international athletes waving at no one while bad music plays."

There was also an inconsistency in the use of boats. Big countries such as Mexico and Poland were crammed onto boats with other teams. Understandably, huge nations like the United States and Australia had their own boat but so did very small countries such as Bhutan, for example, who also had a boat to themselves.

Eventually, those who had sat through hours of the event were left repeating the sentiments of the previous UK government.

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