Messing about in Boats from Beckham to Bateaux Mouches
by Philip Barker at Le Trocadéro
A spectacular river cavalcade along the Seine will set in motion the Paris Olympic Games in a few hours.
The exact details remain a tightly guarded secret but Ceremony Director Thomas Jolly has revealed that Chief Choreographer Maud Le Pladec is creating “a living stage” on the banks of the Seine.
“Dance, as a universal language, will play a key role in the ceremonies,” Jolly said.
“Maud explores all dance cultures through her own creations. Her work is characterised by a unique ability to fuse modernity and raw emotion, combined with a chiselled crafting of bodies in space, transforming the natural setting of the banks of the Seine into a living stage,” he explained.
Organising Committee President Tony Estanguet has described as the “the full immersion of the city in the ceremony.” The Parade of Nations is set to be a nautical occasion for the first time.
Yet the waterways of previous host cities have also played a part in the Games ritual.
In 1988, a flotilla along the Han River preceded the formal Ceremony.
At its head was a giant traditional Korean “Drum of Peace.” It had been made as a gift to the Organising Committee by Kim Kwan-sik, a musician and drum-maker.
It took him three years to complete and was two metres in diameter.
160 windsurfers carried the Flags of the participating nations. The pageant of 458 craft included the Geobukseon, the traditional turtle ship of Korea.
A Korean boatman sang a traditional sailor’s work song.
The pageant was headed by water skiers including some in the costume of the 1988 mascot Hodori, a Korean tiger.
Many of the boats were adorned with the Olympic Rings or carried the Seoul Olympic emblem. They carried passengers carrying tiny flags.
As the drum drew up at the quayside, balloons were released in the stadium.
It was estimated that its progress was watched by some 50,000 spectators.
In 2000 the Flame was taken from Sydney’s Circular Quay on the evening of the Opening Ceremony. It travelled without Ceremony along the Parramatta River to Homebush by RiverCat.
At Athens 2004, water filled the stage at the start of the Ceremony as Michalis Patsatzis sailed a giant paper boat in a sequence designed to symbolise the maritime connections of Greece.
On the day of the 2012 Opening Ceremony, four-time rowing gold medallist Sir Matthew Pinsent lit a cauldron on the Royal Rowbarge Gloriana, which was crewed by British Olympic medallists from eight previous Games.
It travelled from Hampton Court in South London to Tower Bridge, built in 1894, the year the decision had been taken to revive the Olympics for the Modern Era.
The Flame was kept at City Hall before beginning its final journey to the Olympic Stadium later that evening. A “Bladerunner RIB 35” boat named Max Power was seen passing river landmarks with David Beckham at the helm.
It was actually driven by a member of the regular crew.
The Torch, carried in a transparent protective case, was guarded by 17-year-old Arsenal Ladies and England youth footballer Jade Bailey. She had been nominated by Waltham Forest Council.
As they docked the pair were greeted by five-time Olympic rowing gold medallist Sir Steve Redgrave who was Great Britain’s most successful Olympic competitor at that time.
He was one of seven revered British Olympians who nominated a promising young athlete to ignite the final cauldron.
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