The opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics 2024 had its fair share of hiccups, with the organisers mistakenly introducing South Korean athletes as North Korean. Following this, the International Olympic Committee rendered its apology to South Korea, calling the incident "deeply regrettable". With the Paris Olympics kicking off today, we take a look at some of blunders that the Games have witnessed. South Korea being introduced as North Korea The incident occurred when the boat carrying the South Korean team sailed down the Seine, only to be introduced as “the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea", North Korea’s official name. However, when North Korea's team arrived later on, they were correctly introduced by their official name. The South Korean sports ministry announced it would file a “strong complaint” with the French government on the matter, expressing “regret over the announcement. where the South Korean delegation was introduced as the North Korean team.” Olympics flag displayed upside down Following the introduction mishap at the 2024 Paris Games, the Olympic flag was flown upside down, in an unusual 2-3 ring formation instead of the standard 3-2. No formal apology has been made yet to designer Pierre de Coubertin's family. The flag was hoisted at the Trocadéro, across from the Eiffel Tower. A Chinese boxer celebrating too soon At the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Chinese boxer LV Bin was so confident of a win, that he misheard the judge's announcement and started celebrating. Bin was going up against Kenyan boxer Peter Warui. Cauldron malfunction leaves torchbearer in an awkward spot At the opening ceremony of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, one of the four cauldrons malfunctioned. The technical error meant that only three cauldrons rose, while Canadian athlete Catriona LeMay Doan was left awkwardly standing with a flaming torch, unable to complete the lighting ritual. Lip-syncing on the national anthem The 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony sparked a controversy when it was revealed that 9-year-old Lin Miaoke, who appeared to be singing the national anthem, was actually lip-syncing to the voice of 7-year-old Yang Peiyi. Organizers had chosen Yang, who won a national contest, to sing the anthem. However, they had later deemed her unsuitable for the spotlight due to her 'less-than-perfect teeth'. An accident which cruised an athlete to victory In the 2002 Winter Olympics short-track speedskating final, Australian Steven Bradbury was trailing behind other contestants in the last lap. However, half-way through the competition, Chinese skater Li Jiajun crashed, taking out everyone in the race but Bradbury, who coasted past all others to win an unexpected gold medal. "God smiles on you some days and this is my day," said Bradbury after the victory.
