‘City of Lights’ Paris dazzles in photos taken from space as Olympics kick off

Paris Olympics 2024: Nighttime photos taken from the International Space Station show the City of Lights in full splendour.

The City of Lights lived up to its name as the 2024 Paris Olympics kicked off on Friday. Nighttime photos taken from the International Space Station show how Paris received a glow-up thanks to the Olympic Games.

The French capital of Paris, as seen from space.(Instagram/@iss)

The City of Light shined bright on Friday after the much-awaited opening ceremony kicked off the 2024 Paris Games. The rain-soaked opening ceremony saw Olympic teams parading down the River Seine in boats, marking the first time an Olympics opening ceremony took place outside a stadium.

A laser show illuminated the Eiffel Tower, perhaps the most iconic landmark of Paris, and Celine Dion delivered a grand finale in her first performance since she announced her diagnosis with stiff-person syndrome in 2022.

City of Lights

As the Paris Olympics opening ceremony concluded, the International Space Station shared two photos of Paris as seen from space. Both photos show the French capital illuminated, but the difference is stark.

“Paris, where the 2024 #Olympics just kicked off, dazzles in these nighttime photos taken from the International Space Station,” the International Space Station captioned the photos.

The undated photos led to some confusion on social media. “Love the pics, not from tonight for sure,” wrote one person, indicating the unseasonal rainfall that played spoilsport.

However, despite the deluge drenching onlookers and athletes, the show went on at the opening ceremony. It lasted a marathon four hours, reaching a crescendo with a spectacular climax as the Olympic flame soared into the sky aboard a cauldron tethered to a balloon and Celine Dion serenaded Paris with an Edith Piaf song from the Eiffel Tower.

"The opening ceremony is really the moment when you can't mess up. It's a successful gamble," communications specialist Philippe Moreau Chevrolet told AFP. "He (Macron) has very successfully carried out his communications operation for the country and for himself: it's a moment of coming together for the nation... and he hasn't had many in seven years in power."

(With inputs from AFP)