What will the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics be like?
On July 26, Paris will host the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games 2024. A large-scale event celebrating the sporting spirit as well as the cultural diversity of athletes from all over the world!
The Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games promises to be a revolution as it breaks with the traditional codes of previous ceremonies. For the first time in the history of the Summer Olympics, the ceremony will take place outside the stadium, in the heart of Paris. The event will float on the Seine. The athletes will parade on dedicated boats. The boats are equipped with cameras to allow viewers to follow the action at close quarters.
Sailing from the Pont d’Austerlitz to the Pont d’Iéna, no fewer than 10,500 athletes will pass by on 95 boats. They will sail in front of Paris’s most emblematic monuments, including Notre-Dame, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower… They will end their journey at the Trocadero. It’s here that the final shows and ceremonies will take place. The 6-kilometer crossing is punctuated by artistic performances and shows on the bridges and quays.
Spectators, meanwhile, will enjoy unprecedented access to the ceremony. Over 300,000 people are expected to attend the event from the capital’s quays and bridges. A capacity 5 times that of an Olympic stadium! Spectators with paying tickets will be able to enjoy this grandiose event from the lower quays. On the upper quays, however, spectators will enjoy free access. Giant screens and a sound system will be installed along the route. This ensures total immersion in the magical atmosphere of the evening.
The Olympic opening ceremony: a major program
The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games begins at 7:30 pm French time (10:30 am in Los Angeles, 2:30 pm in Rio de Janeiro, 6:30 pm in London and 8:30 pm in Athens), with a parade of 180 boats, including 85 dedicated to the national delegations, which will take around 42 minutes to cross the Seine. As tradition dictates, the Greek boat will be the first to set off. The first Summer Olympic Games were held in Athens from April 6 to 14, 1896.
The lighting of the Olympic cauldron, which will conclude the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, will take place in the Jardin des Tuileries. But the identity of the final torchbearer remains a mystery. According to RMC Sport, a gas balloon, already present in the garden, promises a spectacular aerial spectacle with the famous Olympic flame.
Numerous celebrities will be present at the opening ceremony. Some twenty artists are also expected to take part in the event, including Aya Nakamura and possibly Céline Dion. The ceremony will be broadcast live on France 2, with special coverage starting at 6:30 a.m. for a day entirely dedicated to the 2024 Olympics. For those unable to attend in Paris, it will also be possible to follow the festivities online!
