Paris Olympics opening ceremony: everything to know

TThe Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony will be unlike any other – assuming everything goes according to plan.

For the first time in history, the Summer Olympic Games will not start in a stadium, but on a river.

When the concept was revealed In December 2021, three-time gold medalist and head of the Paris 2024 organizing committee Tony Estanguet described what the reimagined event would look like: “The entire city has been transformed into a vast Olympic stadium. The Seine represents the track and the pier represents the spectator stands.”

It’s an ambitious break with tradition that is expected to be the biggest ever – with hundreds of thousands of people taking part across the French capital – but also potentially the most dangerous, as organizers and security officials are tasked with ensuring the huge outdoor spectacle, which around 1.5 billion people around the world will be watching, goes on without a hitch.

Here are all your questions answered about the Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony.

When will the Opening Ceremony be held?

The ceremony begins at 7:30 pm in Paris (1:30 pm ET) on July 26 and is expected to last more than three hours.

“With the natural light of the setting sun, the event will be even more sublime, with a truly poetic dimension, inviting both athletes and the public to appreciate the natural beauty of the City of Lights,” said Estanguet he said in March when announcing the official evening start time.

Where will the Opening Ceremony take place?

Nearly 100 boats will parade along a 6-kilometer (about 3.7-mile) stretch of the Seine, winding east to west through Paris and passing some of the city’s iconic bridges, historic landmarks (like Notre-Dame and the Louvre ) and Olympic events. locations (including the Grand Palais).

The route will end near the Eiffel Tower, at the Trocadéro, where the closing ceremony and official Olympic protocols will take place, including the opening statement by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Who will produce, participate and perform at the Opening Ceremony?

The main participants are obviously the athletesof which 10,500 will participate in the flotilla to represent 206 different National Olympic Committees.

When eight-time gold medalist Usain Bolt got a glimpse of the sailing experience during last year’s Olympic torch presentation, he shared his enthusiasm for the eventual Opening Ceremony and the crowds that would turn out to watch: “Imagine everyone on the side from outside, on the other side the bridges cheering people up”, he he said. “I think it will be one of the best, if not the best Opening Ceremony.”

Supervising as artistic director of the ceremonies is the actor and theater director Joyful Thomas, which is committed to showcasing France’s multifaceted cultures. “France is Edith Piaf… it’s also opera, it’s rap, it’s a whole range of musical styles,” said the 42-year-old. AFP in January. “The idea is not to project a fixed identity.”

In terms of performances, much has been kept secret until now, but 3,000 artists are scheduled to take part in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics and Paralympics, including 400 dancers led by acclaimed choreographer Maud Le PladecWho told reporters during rehearsals in June: “There won’t be a single bridge in Paris without some dancers.”

When it comes to fashion, French television presenter Daphné Bürki is a stylist and costume director for the Olympics and has worked with your team– including hundreds of stylists, hairdressers and makeup artists – to create looks for the artists, each of whom she says will have a unique outfit. “Each silhouette tells a story”, she told reporters during a press conference in June, emphasizing sustainability. “We wanted a circular ceremony, with a mix of newly created pieces, vintage and recycled pieces,” she said. “The keyword is ‘mix’: of generations among designers, of style with inclusion and of supply with a lot of upcycling.”

How can you watch the Opening Ceremony?

By holding the Opening Ceremony at the Seine, Paris 2024 organizers wanted to make it accessible to a larger audience than would normally be able to watch in a stadium. They also wanted to make this the first Opening Ceremony to offer free access to multiple spectators.

In the end, although the total capacity will be less than the 600,000 that organizers initially expected, there will still be a paying crowd of around 104,000 (tickets range from 90 to 2,700 euros, or about 100 to 3,000 dollars) on the lower piers, while authorities are distributing 222,000 free tickets to watch on the upper banks.

“Eighty giant screens” and speakers will also be placed throughout the city to allow people to “enjoy the magical atmosphere of this show that reverberates throughout the French capital.”

1.5 billion people from around the world are also expected to tune in. For American viewers, NBC will be broadcasting coverage – hosted by sports commentator Mike Tirico, retired football player Peyton Manning and singer and daytime talk show host Kelly Clarkson – of the Opening Ceremony on their TV channel and streaming platform Peacock, as well as hosting IMAX viewing parties in AMC theaters across the U.S. Coverage will also feature “NBC Sports’ Maria Taylor on the Team USA boat, and TODAY Show hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb on a bridge along the route.”

What could go wrong?

Organizing the first Opening Ceremony outside a stadium brought a new set of challenges, which could still derail the event.

A rehearsal scheduled for June 24th had to be canceled due to strong currents in the Seine, although concerns about the river’s water quality have also persisted in the run-up to the 2024 Olympic Games, amid plans to hold open water swimming events.

Organizers must also Grab with unpredictable wind and weather; the structural integrity of the city’s historic bridges, where artists will be stationed; and minimize disturbance to the river’s natural habitats.

But most notable are the security concerns, which have increased in the months leading up to the Opening Ceremony, amid a resurgence of attacks by Islamic extremist groups across Europe. (In May, French police stuck an 18-year-old man who was allegedly planning a jihadist attack targeting Olympic football events.)

All airports and airspace within a 145-kilometer radius around Paris will be closed at the time of the ceremony, due to authorities’ fears that the open environment could expose attendees and participants – among them around 120 heads of state, sovereigns and heads of state. government – ​​to drone and sniper attacks. In addition to decreasing Taking into account the total size of the crowd and adjusting the free ticket policy to be by invitation only rather than open registration, there will also be a 45,000-member security force – including more than 2,000 foreign police – positioned around the French capital. .

See more information: Your guide to the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics: when and how to watch – and what to expect

Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi said in March that depending on the nature of the threat, the Opening Ceremony could be further adapted, but rejected the idea of ​​a last-minute change in venue to somewhere more traditional like the Stade de France. “You can’t plan a Plan B. It’s too big, too sophisticated, too complex artistically to look at a Plan B elsewhere. Plan B is to reduce, adjust, but it’s in this place”, said Dubi Sky News.

According to Macron in April, however, there are alternative plans in case something goes wrong, such as limiting the ceremony to just the Trocadéro or moving it to the Stade. “There is a Plan B and a Plan C. We are preparing them in parallel. We will carry out an analysis in real time”, said the President BFMTV-RMC. “What terrorists want above all is to stop us from dreaming. They want to prevent young people from going to café terraces, concerts and sporting events. There is no naivety. There is great lucidity. We will share all the information. We will give ourselves the means to hold a grand opening ceremony.”

France’s sports minister expressed confidence just days after Macron’s comments that contingency plans would not be necessary. “We are working intensely on Plan A, which remains the central scenario and the very, very dominant scenario,” said Amélie Oudéa-Castéra he said in a “100 Days To Go” event. “We continue working on that fantastic ceremony on the River Seine.”

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