After an eight-month closure due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the Eiffel Tower reopened on Friday for the first time since World War II.

There were yells and applause from guests queued to get in as a countdown clock at the foot of the tower reached zero, a brass band began playing, and people began flowing through the entryway.

“We’re really blessed to be here,” Patrick Perutka, an 18-year-old Croatian who had been waiting for the gates to open for three hours, said.

He was on his first visit to the Eiffel Tower. “It’s a big deal,” he said of the tower. “Everyone knows about it.

Because of lingering concerns about the virus, masks remain compulsory for anyone over 11 years of age, and each elevator car will only carry half the normal number of visitors.

From July 21, visitors will need to show a French government “health pass” to demonstrate they are either vaccinated or have had a recent negative test for COVID-19.