The Seine at the heart of celebration: the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be unlike any other

By Thomas Bihel

Breathtaking. Imagine the world together. Imagine your eyes fixed on Paris. Imagine July 26, 2024. 8pm. 25 degrees in the air. For the first time in history and after thirty-two opening ceremonies, the city is a stage. The Seine becomes the heart of Olympism.

Over six kilometers, from the Pont d’Austerlitz to the Pont d’Iéna, the Parisian river will be the scene of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. A giant spectacle for a billion viewers. Creative, surprising. With more than 10,000 athletes at the heart of the project. Athletes in search of sensations, of medals, ready to disembark on the 162 or so boats planned. The parade of 206 delegations will kick off this show. Forty-five minutes of parade on the water, between excitement and pride, with the Parisian monuments in majestic decoration of a room to be built.

“This immense playground offers almost endless possibilities on the water, in the air, with the adjoining Parisian monuments, indicates Michaël Aloïsio, the spokesperson for Paris 2024 and chief of staff of the president of Paris 2024, Tony Estanguet. Sport will be at the heart of the ceremony “.

600,000 people

Between the Cojo (the organizing committee of the Olympic Games), the State services, the city of Paris, the stakeholders of the river, the works are harmonized. The State has given the green light to ensure this unprecedented moment in complete safety.

600,000 people will be able to attend this ceremony. This is ten times more than at the Stade de France in show configuration. Parisians, French people, spectators from all over the world will be able to make this moment their own. “There is no doubt that France has never had this exposure, insists Michaël Aloïsio. With all the teams we wanted something different. Spectacular and creative Games, also participatory, by associating new territories and new communities. The Seine becomes the track, the platforms of the stands “.

Along the water, on the bridges spanning the Seine, athletes and artists will reveal their diverse and varied talents. There will be tightrope walkers, dancers and acrobats who will perform aquatic tricks and dives of very high flight. We will listen to a floating symphony orchestra, too. “We will play on the emotional dimension of sport, adds Michaël Aloïsio. This ceremony must sublimate sport “.

80 giant screens will be scattered along the route. Nothing can escape you. Imagine the cheers, imagine the smiles, imagine a sparkling City of Light.

End of course. An ephemeral opera comes to life at the Trocadéro. The Olympic Torch Relay is drawing to a close. This Olympic flame which, soon, embraces its basin. Who is this person who will have the honor of lighting it? Where will she be? There are well-kept secrets. But the Iron Lady will undoubtedly have a major role in the Parisian night … “It’s up to us to write the story we want to tell. And this, in the most beautiful setting in the world, reveals the spokesperson for Paris 2024, aware of a major challenge. We have the impression of unveiling a trailer. It is already a momentous moment, intense “.

The Seine is flowing. Soon the Games will be officially open. Games of the XXXIII Olympiad like no other. Imagine July 26, 2024.