Let the Games begin!

Welcome to Paris, the City of Light, which is hosting the Summer Olympics for the third time. What makes these Games unique is the opening ceremony, which will be held outside a stadium for the first time. Participants will parade along the Seine on a flotilla of boats, passing under the Pont Neuf, pictured here, and cheered by spectators lining both banks. Paris is no stranger to historic firsts; the 1900 Games included women competing for the first time, although they made up only 22 of 997 athletes.
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