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NewsTranscript
00:00Well, despite the less-than-ideal weather, festivities have already begun here in Paris.
00:05The Olympic flame has been making its final journey through the city.
00:09Earlier this morning, American rappers Snoop Dogg and Pharrell Williams were among the
00:13final torchbearers near the Stade de France, north of Paris.
00:17For the very latest, we can check in with our reporter Clovis Casali, who's been following
00:22the flame.
00:23Clovis, I believe you've made it towards central Paris.
00:25Tell us where you are now and what's going on there.
00:28Well, I'm here at the Hôtel de Ville in the heart of the French capital, and take a look
00:35at this very long queue.
00:37Actually, I'm going to show you the long waiting time for those who have got tickets to the
00:43opening ceremony.
00:44This queue goes straight to the banks of the Seine, of course, where the opening ceremony
00:50is taking place.
00:52The people here know they're going to have to wait quite a bit, but they're very excited
00:56about taking part in this historic event, and these people come from everywhere.
01:01We spoke to Americans, French, Brazilians, and one family came from Sao Paolo, especially
01:10for today, and the husband, the father, was telling me he was very happy because it was
01:14his daughter's birthday, and he managed to clinch a ticket for this event.
01:19A French couple was telling me, my wife is such a huge fan of Céline Dion, she just
01:25hopes she will get to see her perform tonight during this opening ceremony of the Olympic
01:31Games that's set to be unprecedented for the first time in modern times.
01:35It will be taking place outside a stadium on the Seine with over 10,000 athletes carried,
01:44transported on boats along the Seine with, of course, special animations.
01:50It's a very special show, of course, and the people here are, of course, some of them paid
01:55a lot of money for their tickets, but they think it's worthwhile, and they're just hoping
02:00that this evening will be what they are hoping for.
02:04That is an amazing show with big names.
02:06We're talking Céline Dion, possibly Lady Gaga.
02:10For the organizers, of course, security issues.
02:13They have a lot of police forces deployed, 45,000 policemen and gendarmes across the
02:22Paris region, and 18,000 soldiers.
02:28And Clévis, you've been following the Olympic flame and kind of feeling out the ambiance
02:32in Paris throughout the day.
02:33Just briefly, you know, what have you been hearing from people, and how would you describe
02:37the mood?
02:39Clearly, excitement is building up.
02:43You know, before today, a lot of Parisians, a lot of French people were saying, do we
02:49really need these games?
02:50It's going to be a lot of money spent by the government.
02:53Is it going to be this event we need?
02:56And clearly, when you talk to people today, while the Parisians who've stayed in the capital
03:00are excited, do you think it's going to be something to remember, of course?
03:05And the people I spoke to, whether they're foreigners or Parisians, are all trying to
03:09find the best spot to watch the opening ceremony.
03:12It might be at home with their families or friends, or in one of the many fan zones across
03:18the French capital.
03:19But clearly, this is the moment that kicks off the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
03:25And that's what we were hoping for.
03:26That's what we've been waiting for, a moment to maybe forget what's going on in the world
03:31and just focus on pleasure and sport.