Olympics 2024 opening ceremony LIVE: Celine Dion performs as Games declared open and heavy rain hits Paris

Tahiti welcomed the 2024 Olympic surfing event on Friday with blazing sunshine, songs and Polynesian culture honouring the sport’s ancient roots, a world away from the rain of the Games’ opening ceremony in Paris.

At a beachside park 40km from the surfing venue of Teahupo’o, surfers poured sand from their home beaches into a communal vessel, combining the different colours and textures to symbolise unity and respect for the ocean.

“It was nice, definitely, very different to Paris,” said Ramzi Boukhiam, who is representing Morocco in his second Olympic Games after the sport’s debut in Tokyo.

“We’re like 16,000 km away but we’re in paradise and it was nice to see all the athletes, all the countries.”

Joining the Paris opening would have been fun but was not possible given the distance, he said.

“Of course it would have been nice because you would be there with the whole nation, all Morocco, all the athletes, but the main goal is to win the contest and do that you have to come here early and get ready,” Boukhiam said.

Katie Ledecky gets her bid for yet more precious metal for the mantelpiece going on the opening day of swimming action at Paris 2024, with the American eyeing a 400m freestyle shootout with Ariarne Titmus and Summer McIntosh in what could be one of the races of the Games.

Fernando Aguerre says that when he was first elected president of the International Surfing Association in 1994, the organisation consisted of a cardboard box and a cheque.

Thirty years on, the Argentine is now making preparations to pass the torch to a new leader, having built the ISA into a body representing 116 countries and achieving the improbable goal of taking surfing to the Olympics.

“When I got (elected) it was literally a cardboard box like this, with papers and a $5,000 cheque, so I was like, ‘I can’t go wrong, because … I’m already at ground zero!’” Aguerre told Reuters.

Having sold the footwear company he set up with his brother for a sum reported to be in the region of $100m, Aguerre works pro bono.

“I don’t make money – I’m free, so I’m a good deal,” he laughed when asked about stepping down.

“I pushed for a new bylaw in the constitution that will preclude me from running after 2026, so 2026 will be my last – in the current constitution I won’t be able to run after that.

“Two or three” succession plans are in place but Aguerre hopes to retain some kind of role.

“I think it’s better I take more of a head advisor or, like I like to call myself, head cheerleader,” he added.

“I enjoy sitting down with people like this, kind of passing the spiritual and cultural torch of the sport.

“So I might make it to (the) Brisbane (Olympics), maybe. Maybe the sharks will take me before that.”

South Korea expressed regret that its delegation of athletes at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Friday was introduced as from rival North Korea and has demanded assurances from organisers the mistake will not happen again.

As the boat carrying South Korean athletes passed on the Seine, the announcer introduced them as the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” – the official name of North Korea – in French and English.

The announcer used the same introduction when the North Korean delegation passed.

South Korea’s vice minister for sports and culture, Jang Mi-ran, who was in Paris, had requested a meeting with International Olympics Committee president Thomas Bach, the ministry said in a statement.

“We express regret that the country was introduced as North Korea at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games when the athletes of the Republic of Korea were entering,” it said.

The 2024 Paris Olympic Games have officially commenced, and they’ve kicked off with what many are calling the most unique – and bizarre – opening ceremony.

On Friday, July 26, the thousands of Olympians competing in the games made their way to the heart of Paris, where they rode down the River Seine in boats manned by their respective countries.

But the boat procession wasn’t the only one-of-a-kind moment from this year’s opening ceremony, as the celebration was full of surprising moments, from headless Marie Antoinette figurines to faceless torch-bearers.

The rainy weather, which resulted in many athletes and attendees wearing plastic rain ponchos, only added to the overall mood of the ceremony, prompting many viewers watching at home to comment on the unconventional festivities.

The row between Wada and Usada escalated this week with figures on both sides producing punchy comments.

One story has been the hot topic ahead of the swimming action at Paris 2024 – and it’s not anyone’s exploits in the pool. Jack Rathborn explains the doping scandal casting a shadow over these Olympics.

Tom Daley gave a secret signal to his young children during the opening ceremony for the Paris 2024 Olympics on Friday, 26 July.

The gold medallist, 30, and his husband, Dustin Lance Black, 50, have two sons.

Daley was a flagbearer on Great Britain‘s boat alongside rower Helen Glover.

He was seen smiling and making half a heart with his hands as the team travelled down the River Seine.

Later, Daley posted on Instagram describing the honour he felt carrying the flag – and revealed why he made the gesture.

The Olympics are underway at Paris 2024 and many of the early medals will be won in the pool as the swimming events begin.

Swimming is one of the most watched sports at the Olympics and its finals are often prime-time viewing in the opening days of the Games, as big names clash again and again across several fiercely competitive events.