PARIS — Bernard Arnault, France's wealthiest man and chief executive of luxury group LVMH, paid some 150 million euros (S$220 million) to be the premium sponsor of the Paris Olympics. At the Games' opening ceremony, his wares were placed front and centre of an extravaganza viewed by a global audience.
Grammy-winner Lady Gaga delivered an energetic performance of Renee "Zizi" Jeanmaire's Mon truc en plumes (My Feather Friend) decked out in a Dior Haute Couture black feather jacket over a black satin bustier.
Aya Nakamura, France's most-listened to female singer in the world, performed a medley of her top hits clad in a Dior over-the-shoulder gold feather and silk dress.
Meanwhile, LVMH's Berluti label dressed France's athletes for the ceremony.
Arnault, who a day earlier had been rubbing shoulders with Tesla-owner Elon Musk at a lunch hosted by President Emmanuel Macron, followed the ceremony from his opulent Cheval Blanc hotel overlooking the Seine.
Asked in an interview broadcast by CNBC on Friday (July 26) why LVMH sponsored the Games, Arnault said: "As we are the number one French company, we cannot avoid helping.
"But it has to have a sense. We are just not going to give money and say, OK, you thank us, but that's it. We wanted to find a way to show through the Olympics to the world that France as itself is a creative country, is a refined country, is a craftsmanship country."
LVMH's Moet & Chandon champagne and Hennessy cognac will be quaffed in VIP bars, its jewellery brand Chaumet has designed medals for the event, while Louis Vuitton is the label behind the medal trays and torch trunks.
The opening extravaganza displayed cinematic video footage of the trunks being carried down to the Seine and production of the athletes' medals.
"In tonight's opening ceremony, you will see very beautiful dresses done by Dior and other houses," Arnault told CNBC. "It's, I think, a fantastic way to show that France is special."
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