Olympics: Amusan leads Nigeria in historic opening ceremony

Flagbearer Tobi Amusan and Nigeria’s team captain, Anuoluwapo Opeyori, led the Nigerian delegation at a colourful and historic Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony on Friday night.

In spite of the rain having its way on the night, athletes cheered along the Seine asmore than 200 national delegations sailedthrough the centre of Paris and past sights such as the Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, and the Musée d’Orsay.

For the first time in Summer Games history, the opening ceremony was not held in a stadium.

Nigeria, in her colourful, well-styled green and white dresses, rode on a boat with Amusan hoisting the flag, supported by Opeyori, alongside the delegation as they sailed across.

Meanwhile, a total of 88 Team Nigeria athletes, comprising 63 women and 25 men, will compete in 12 sports at the Paris Olympics.

More than 10,500 athletes will compete at the Olympics, 100 years since Paris last staged the Games.

The Games started on Wednesday, and the first of the 329 gold medals will be awarded on Saturday, with the closing ceremony billed for Aug. 11.