Paris 2024 Olympics underway with extravagant opening ceremony

Friday saw the start of the 2024 Olympics being hosted in Paris. Things got off to a rocky start with bad weather conditions and the French train lines hit by arson attacks, but the opening ceremony saw spectacular demonstrations of fireworks and performances from musicians and dancers. The ceremony which took place along the River Seine also saw the return of Canadian icon Céline Dion singing at the Eiffel tower in her first performance since late 2022, when she announced her neurological condition. Over 10,000 athletes will compete across 32 sports at the Games.

Also in the programme: Leader of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel and one of the world's most notorious drug lords known as 'El Mayo' was arrested this week by American authorities in El Paso after being reportedly tricked into boarding a flight and we speak to long term friend of Kamala Harris, Stacey Johnson-Batiste, as it was announced earlier this week that she will be the US Democratic party's candidate in November's presidential elections.

Joining presenter Krupa Padhy are Paige McLanahan, an American journalist and author based in France and Carne Ross, a writer and former UK diplomat.

(Picture: The torchbearers Marie-Jose Perec (R) and Teddy Riner (2-R) arrive to light the cauldron during the Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, France, 26 July 2024. MOHAMMED BADRA/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)