PARIS, France — As the countries of the world paraded along the Seine river on Friday in Paris to mark the Olympics Opening Ceremony's Parade of Nations, one element that really stood out, in addition to the athletes, was the boats themselves.
Many countries either occupied a large river barge or shared boats, but some made a mark by using their own boat.
It's not clear if that was an arrangement the country had to agree on with the Paris Olympics organizers or an artistic decision made by the directors of the Opening Ceremony, but it resulted in a couple highlights.
Above the rest was Bhutan.
Bhutan boat at Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony turns heads
The stylish boat that Bhutan's delegation of three athletes rode in on was identified by observers as a Riva Yacht.
Riva boats have been dubbed by Motorboat & Yachting Magazine the "world's coolest boats."
So why did Bhutan get to ride down the Seine in a classy Italian speedboat and other delegations just came in on a barge? Again, it's not totally clear (at least not in any communications made public by Olympic organizers) but probably had to do with some combination of national delegation preference and approval from those directing and organizing the Opening Ceremony.
As far as the boat parade went, one captain involved in the Opening Ceremony, Michel de Vallois, described in an Olympics story in late June how preparations were going.
"We have to make sure that the boat maintains the right pace - it's a very precise rhythm under each bridge, down to the second," De Vallois said then. "We're liaising with the ceremony organisers."