The Paris 2024 will become the first Olympic Games in history wherein the opening ceremony is going to be hosted on a river instead of a stadium. On July 26, there will be a parade held on boats for more than 10,000 athletes belonging to 200 national delegations on the Seine River in Paris.
As per the Indian Express report, the boats will be departing from the Pont d’Austerlitz bridge, covering a six-kilometre route of the Seine River, crossing several landmarks in Paris before making its way to the Trocadero by the Eiffel Tower. Over there, a 13,000-seater temporary stadium called the Champions Park has been built, where the opening ceremony will culminate along with the official Olympic protocol, including an opening declaration from Emmanuel Macron, the French President.
Paris 2024 to become first Olympic Games with river as opening ceremony venue
Apart from the Champions Park, there will be 3,26,000 tickets available, priced from €90 to €2,700, for the fans to view the parade of boats in the Paris 2024 opening ceremony from quays by the river in temporary grandstands. The officials for the 33rd Olympiad, including Tony Estanguet, the head of the organising committee, have also worked on installing eight giant screens in Paris for the fans to view the opening ceremony in large gatherings.
The dance choreography head for the Paris 2024 opening ceremony, Maud Le Pladec, has already hinted last month about every single bridge in Paris with some dancers on it. Furthermore, there could be more than 3,000 artists participating in the opening and closing ceremonies for the upcoming Olympics.
The organising committee for Paris 2024 has appointed Thomas Jolly, the well-known theatre actor and director, to make the opening ceremony a thrilling spectacle.