LVMH luxury goods take centre stage at Olympic opening

Bernard Arnault, France's richest man and chief executive of luxury group LVMH, paid around 150 million euros ($163 million) to be the title sponsor of the Paris Olympics. At the opening ceremony of the Games, his products took centre stage in a spectacle that was watched by a global audience.

Grammy winner Lady Gaga gave an energetic rendition of Renée 'Zizi' Jeanmaire's “Mon truc en plumes” (My Feather Friend), dressed in a black Dior Haute Couture feather jacket over a black satin bustier.
Aya Nakamura, the most listened to French singer in the world, performed a medley of her greatest hits dressed in a silk and gold feather dress by Dior.

Meanwhile, LVMH's Berluti brand dressed the French athletes for the ceremony.

Arnault, who had been hobnobbing with Tesla owner Elon Musk a day earlier at a lunch hosted by President Emmanuel Macron, watched the ceremony from his opulent Cheval Blanc hotel overlooking the Seine.

Asked in an interview broadcast on CNBC on Friday why LVMH sponsored the Games, Arnault replied: “As we are the number one French company, we cannot help but help.

“But it has to have a meaning. We're not going to give money and say, 'OK, thank you, but that's it.' We wanted to find a way to show the world, through the Olympic Games, that France is a creative country, a refined country, a country of craftsmen.”

LVMH's Moët & Chandon champagne and Hennessy cognac will be sipped at VIP bars, its jewellery brand Chaumet has designed medals for the event, while Louis Vuitton is the brand behind the medal trays and torch trunks.

During the inaugural extravaganza, cinematic images were shown of the transport of the trunks to the Seine and the presentation of medals to the athletes.

“At the opening ceremony tonight, you will see very beautiful dresses from Dior and other houses,” Arnault told CNBC. “I think it's a fantastic way to show that France is special.”