Find out who was behind the mask in the opening

The opening ceremony of the Olympics featured a masked figure, who appeared at dozens of moments, but whose identity was not revealed at first. The person behind the mask was Florian Isert, a non-commissioned officer in the military guard of the French Ministry of Defense.

The character appeared right at the beginning of the opening, in a recorded video that also featured Zinedine Zidane. The character then appeared live and recorded at other moments of the concert, which included 12 acts and lasted four hours.

In the last part, the character appeared on a metal horse, with armor, as if walking on water. Then the character walked near the Eiffel Tower and handed over the Olympic flag.

Throughout the opening the character had different meanings, such as Arno Dorian, a character from Assassin’s Creed, a game created by a French studio; the prisoner known as the Man in the Iron Mask; the Phantom of the Opera; Ghosts; and Arsène Lupin.

In the final part, the character represents the Olympic spirit and Sequana, the mythical goddess of the Seine River and symbol of resistance.

The person on the horse’s head was Floriane Essert. She is part of the National Gendarmerie, a military police force under the French Ministry of Defense. She was the one who delivered the Olympic flag to be raised.

On social media, during the opening, there was a lot of speculation and joking among many people about the identity of the masked person.

This created an expectation that he could be a great celebrity. However, the organization’s intention was to give more importance to the character, not the person wearing the mask.

The organization also announced who was involved in creating the character’s costume: French designer Jeanne Friot, who specializes in gender-neutral and environmentally responsible fashion; and artisan Robert Mercier, who makes luxury clothing, including for pop singers like Beyoncé.