PARIS — After a global pandemic and in the shadow of at least three ongoing wars, the 2024 Paris Olympic Games kicked off Friday with a spectacular open-air opening ceremony that aimed to provide relief, positivity and perhaps even unity in a world riven by tension.

The ambitious celebration was unlike any other in the 128-year history of the modern Olympiad. Instead of parading inside a stadium, around 10,500 athletes sailed in a 3.5-mile flotilla of 94 boats down Paris’ iconic Seine…