It was one of the key paintings of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. One of the most magical, too. On Friday, at nightfall, a rider caped with the Olympic flag rode entirely up the Seine, from the Île Saint-Louis to the Trocadéro, on an articulated metal horse. A sequence representing the irruption of “Sequana, goddess of the river and symbol of resistance”, who gradually spread the “Olympic spirit” in her wake, according to Thomas Jolly. Enough to delight many rave spectators on social networks.
The construction of this 1m80 articulated horse took “a year of work”, the workshop told AFP. “It is equipped with a flotation system created specifically for the needs of the opening ceremony by naval architects from Quiberon (west of France). The mechanism transcribes as precisely as possible the movements of a horse's gallop,” the agency was told.
Daphné Bürki, also director of “styling and costumes” for the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games, could not hold back her tears on the France 2 set this Friday evening. Alongside Thomas Jolly, Daphné Bürki collaborated with the creative team to imagine and create the approximately 3,000 costumes worn by the dancers and performers.
At the end of this crossing, the rider – who this time was riding a real horse – reached the Trocadéro, opposite the Eiffel Tower, followed by the flags of the participating National Olympic Committees, to bring the Olympic flag.
