Google Doodle turns birds into gymnasts in playful Paris Olympics 2024 celebration

Mumbai: In celebration of the gymnasts participating in the Paris Olympics 2024, Google dedicated its July 29th icon to artistic gymnastics. The competitions are being held at Bercy Arena, Paris from July 27 to August 5.

The Google Doodle showcases an image and a GIF of a bird performing entertaining moves on a gymnastics beam, while a cat in the background scores the bird a perfect 10 out of 10.

Google Doodle celebrates Paris Olympics 2024

On the inauguration day of the Paris Olympics 2024, Google announced that it would change its icon daily with fun animated characters, mostly birds, to honour Olympic participants in different events.

To celebrate the beginning of the Summer Olympics in Paris on July 26, Google changed its icon to a GIF showing a bunch of birds floating down the river with their sports gear.

“Today’s #GoogleDoodle celebrates the opening of the Summer Games in Paris! Stay tuned for weeks of fierce competition and fun Doodles!” read an X post by Google Doodles.

Today’s #GoogleDoodle celebrates the opening of the Summer Games in Paris! Stay tuned for weeks of fierce competition and fun Doodles! → https://t.co/fZOHJVC9NN pic.twitter.com/apEFmhJxWG

— Google Doodles (@GoogleDoodles) July 26, 2024

Paris Olympics 2024

The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics on July 26 broke traditions, featuring athlete delegations from more than 200 nations sailing down the Seine River past Paris landmarks. Singer Celine Dion performed publicly for the first time in years. This year’s event was held on water to highlight the improving conditions of the Seine River, which was previously closed due to pollution.

The ceremony also included a segment titled ‘Sisterhood’ that paid tribute to prominent French women, featuring infographics in six languages, including Hindi.

French President Emmanuel Macron declared the Games open, marking the beginning of competitions for the next 16 days. The four-hour ceremony concluded with French judo great Teddy Riner and sprint legend Marie-José Pérec jointly lighting the Olympic cauldron, symbolising the most gender-neutral Games. The cauldron, attached to a giant hot-air balloon, lifted off into the Paris night.

Before this, French football legend Zinedine Zidane handed the torch to Spanish tennis superstar Rafael Nadal, who sailed down the Seine along with tennis legend Serena Williams and former track star Carl Lewis.