Paris is preparing for an Olympics opening ceremony like no other on the River Seine on Friday night.
The Taoiseach Simon Harris is in Paris ahead of the ceremony of the Olympic Games this evening.
A meeting of world leaders will take place at the Élysée Palace this afternoon, hosted by French president Emmanuel Macron.
Security around Paris is being ramped up later with much of the city's public transport network being suspended, while a 150kilometer no-fly zone coming into effect.
But the action has already got under way in Paris with preliminary competitions taking place in sports including rugby sevens, handball and archery.
Here the we look back at a day on which the eagerly-awaited Games in the French capital began to creak into life.
Ireland were denied by a second-half fightback as New Zealand emerged 14-12 winners in their rugby sevens Pool A decider at the Paris Olympics. First-half tries from Zac Ward and Jordan Conroy, plus a Mark Roche conversion, gave Ireland a shock 10-0 interval lead at the Stade de France. But New Zealand stormed back and Andrew Knewstubb’s late conversion proved decisive.
Teenage archer Megan Havers fired Team GB into Paris 2024 Olympic action when she released her first arrow at the Esplanade des Invalides. Havers, fellow debutant Penny Healey and Tokyo 2020 veteran Bryony Pitman were the first Britons to compete at these Games, their preliminary ranking round moved a day earlier than its traditional opening day morning slot due to the venue’s proximity to the River Seine opening ceremony.
Quote of the day
“I can officially say I’m an Olympian now, so that’s really cool to say. I’ve got a lot more Olympics in me I hope as well” – 16-year-old archer Megan Havers on getting Team GB’s Paris 2024 quest underway.
By PA Staff, Paris
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