For the first time in their history, the Olympics Games will not kick off in a stadium but instead on a river. A larger-than-life opening ceremony at Paris 2024 will see an armada of boats carry over 200 delegations of athletes along a stretch of the river Seine through the city, as thousands watch from either side of the waterway. An ambitious move, which in the words of Tony Estanguet – head of the organizing committee – will see the entire city turned into a vast Olympic stadium.
The boats carrying athletes will depart from the Pont d’Austerlitz bridge, which gets its name from the Battle of Austerlitz during the Napoleonic Wars. The flotilla will cover a six-kilometer stretch over the Seine – crossing 18 bridges and several landmarks across the City of Lights in the sunset hours – before making its way to Pont d’Léna, which is a stone’s throw away from the Eiffel Tower. Per several reports, including from French daily Le Monde, somewhere between 80-100 boats are expected to parade a contingent of athletes representing 206 different National Olympic Committees.
The flotilla will cover a six-kilometer stretch over the Seine – crossing 18 bridges and several landmarks. (IOC)
Venue of opening address and ceremony finale
Champions Park – a temporary stadium with a crowd capacity of 13,000 – has been erected in front of the Trocadéro by the Eiffel Tower. The venue will host the culmination of the ceremony and the official Olympic protocol, including an opening declaration from French President Emmanuel Macron.
The performances
While a lot of the details have been kept under wraps, over 3,000 artists are expected to participate in the opening and closing ceremonies. With the ceremony being held outside the stadium, the idea is to make use of the additional landscapes on offer. Dance choreography head Maud Le Pladec, for instance, hinted to reporters last month, “There won’t be a single bridge in Paris without some dancers on it.”
To orchestrate the same, the Paris 2024 Organising Committee has appointed Thomas Jolly, a renowned theatre actor and director.
Over 3,000 artists are expected to participate in the opening and closing ceremonies. (IOC)
Seating for spectators
By holding a significant portion of the opening ceremony over the Seine, the organising committee has made it open for more people than any venue in the country could’ve seated. Other than Champions Park, a total of 3,26,000 tickets have been made accessible for viewing the parade of boats from quays by the river and bridges, where temporary stands have been built. Of this, 2,22,000 free tickets will be distributed to watch the ceremony from the upper banks while the rest are for the lower quays, ranging from €90 to €2,700. In addition, eight giant screens have been installed throughout the city to invite large public gatherings.
The challenges
The open setting of the ceremony adds to the security concerns of the organising committee with the athletes as well as several heads of state largely exposed. A resurgence of attacks by extremist Islamist groups across Europe contributes to the headache. From a logistical perspective, so does the river Seine. On June 24, a rehearsal of the ceremony was cancelled owing to strong currents in the river.
Plan B
There is a Plan B as well as a Plan C, President Macron had assured in April. One of the alternatives, he said, was to host the ceremony at Trocadero Square facing the Eiffel Tower, nearby Pont d’Léna, which is currently pinned as the arrival point after the river procession. Another option is to stage the entire opening ceremony at Stade de France, the country’s largest stadium that is due to host the track and field events. Macron assured that the organising committee has made arrangements keeping in mind a last-minute change of plans.
