The opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics was long, rain-sodden, but ultimately a brilliant spectacle along the banks of the River Seine.
Boats brought the athletes down the river to replace the traditional parade around the Olympic Stadium, and the organisers interweaved artistic scenes between the introduction of each country's athletes.
It was innovative in many ways but perhaps most impressive was the manner in which the organisers broke up what can often be a long and tedious parade, as over 200 countries slowly enter the Olympic Stadium.
Though it was largely a hugely successful opening ceremony, there was an embarrassing gaffe, as the South Korean delegation were mistakenly introduced under the name of North Korea.
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South Korea mistakenly introduced as North Korea at Paris Opening Ceremony
As the South Korean team (officially known as the 'People's Republic of Korea') were introduced to viewers around the world on Friday evening, both the official French and English announcers introduced them as the 'Democratic People's Republic of Korea.'
The subtitle on the TV world feed gave South Korea their correct title, while North Korea were correctly introduced later in the parade.
Those up to date with their intricacies here will know that 'DPR Korea' is the official name of North Korea. There have been intense diplomatic tensions between North and South Korea ever since the armistice of the Korean War in 1953. There has been a partition on the Korean peninsula ever since, and tensions have only escalated in recent times.
Of course, the International Olympic Committee would have hoped not to erroneously introduce any of the 205 nations participating in the Paris 2024 Olympics. However, given the ongoing deep tensions between the two parts of the Korean peninsula, this was a mistake the organisers would have especially hoped to avoid.
The IOC have been forced to apologise, after the South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol urged IOC president Thomas Bach to ensure no further mistakes of this nature were made.
According to the Korea Times, Yoon and Bach have spoken over the phone, with Bach apologising and Yoon saying that the people of South Korea were "baffled" by the huge error.
In a post on their Korean language Twitter account, the IOC said, "We would like to offer a deep apology over the mistake that occurred in the introduction of the South Korean delegation during the opening ceremony."
The South Korean delegation had previously expressed its intention to raise the issue with France on a "government level."
As innocent mistakes go, this is one of the worst we can remember in recent times.
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