2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony

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2024 Summer Olympics
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The opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics is scheduled to take place on 26 July 2024 in Paris, starting at 19:30 CEST (17:30 UTC). As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings will include an artistic program showcasing the culture of the host country and city, the parade of athletes and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron. The Games will be formally opened by the President of France, Emmanuel Macron.

Preparations

Planning was expected to finalize by the end of 2023, with certain rehearsals occurring in other venues without the public before the event, while others occurring on-site, which were considered as "teasers" by Thierry Reboul, the Brand, Creativity and Engagement Executive Director for the Games. The first camera shot was done in September 2023 and coverage of the event is expected to be provided by 130 cameras.[2] The event will be broadcast to 80 giant screens along the route of the Seine.[3] Organized by theater actor and director Thomas Jolly [fr], it will be the first opening ceremony held outside of an Olympic stadium.[3][4]

Attendees were originally expected to be upwards of 500,000,[2] non-paying, and an additional 100,000 paying spectators on the lower quays of the river,[5] for a total of 600,000.[6] The figures accounted for an "occupancy ratio of 3 people per" 1 square metre (11 sq ft).[5] However, after a suggestion in May 2023 by Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, the French Minister for Sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, that this be limited to between 300,000 and 400,000 free of charge, and after additional concerns of security and transportation, the figure was reduced to a maximum of 300,000 in late November 2023.[5] In late December 2023, a further reduction was posited, as security services would have preferred the ceremony in a stadium to facilitate implementing security measures.[7] The bleachers shall stretch from the François-Mitterrand Library to the Eiffel Tower.[5]

The public will line the banks of the Seine, sitting on 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) stretch on the upper and lower quays of as well of rivers that cross each side of the river.[2][3] The total organizing team will count between 6,000 to 8,000 personnel, including security in the days leading up to the ceremony. The ceremony itself is set to have 2,000 dancers.[2] All personnel involved on water, air and land will total 45,000, with an average of 3,750 people per 1 square kilometre (0.39 sq mi).[7] This figure does not include the roughly 2,000 agents required to monitor the entry tents of paid ticketholders and law enforcement located on the elevated docks throughout the course.[7] The cast and athletes will travel on the river from the Pont d'Austerlitz to the Pont d'Iena, in front of the Eiffel Tower and the Jardins du Trocadéro, where the main protocol is held.[6]

In May 2023, tickets for the event went on sale via ballot for the first time, with prices ranging from €90 (£80/$99) to €2,700 (£2,390/$2,960),[8] with the latter being the most expensive tickets overall for the Games.[9]

In October 2023, following security concerns caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the 2023 Israel–Hamas war and the Arras school stabbing, both the French government and the Paris Organising Committee for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games (COJOP2024) stated there were no official plans to relocate, stating that "Plan A takes into account all of the threats." Oudéa-Castréa stated on BFM TV that they were paying attention to context and the government had been working on "adjustment variables," wishing to maintain the original format.[5] In December 2023, President Macron stated that there were multiple scenarios for the ceremony, in case of a major security event which would force it to move from the Seine. To this, COJOP2024 stated they had "contingency plans for all identified risk scenarios: heatwaves, cyberattacks, and the ceremony is no exception."[6]

Part of the ceremony will have 160 boats and barges,[10] with around 58 taking part in a reduced rehearsal carried out in July 2023, carrying athlete delegations, television crews and emergency services.[4] In April 2023, 116 vessels from 42 river companies had been committed, with an expected 98% of all boats to be used being based in Paris and the rest from regional boat companies, like local sponsor Highfield Boats.[8]

Ceremony and torch relay

The Parade of Nations, during which the 10,500 participating athletes will march categorized by delegation,[3] will take place on the Seine, with other ceremonial events being held at the Jardins du Trocadéro.[1][11] Gérald Darmanin, Minister of the Interior, estimated that 25,000 security agents will be required and that around 35,000 police officers will be deployed for the opening ceremony.[8][1]

The 80-day Olympic torch relay for the Olympic flame is being organized by COJOP2024 president Tony Estanguet and is set to leave Greece by boat to Marseille, then being carried through Mont-Saint-Michel, the Palace of Versailles and the French Caribbean, before finally arriving at the ceremony to light the Olympic cauldron.[4] The Olympic Torch was lit in Olympia, Greece on 16 April 2024,[12] where it will then travel through Greece for the following 10 days and then be handed to COJOP2024 on 26 April at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens. It is set to leave Piraeus aboard the sailing ship Belem, and it is expected to arrive in Marseille on 8 May.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c "France unveils security plan for Olympics opening ceremony in central Paris". France 24. 24 May 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Lloyd, Owen (20 September 2023). "Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony preparations to be finalised by end of year". Inside the Games. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d Delorme, Anne-Claire (10 July 2023). "Paris 2024 opening ceremony: why you (really) shouldn't miss it?". Explore France. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "Seine-sational? Paris rehearses waterborne opening ceremony for 2024 Olympics". France24. Agence France-Presse. 17 July 2023. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e Lepeltier, Nicolas; Le Coeur, Philippe (2 November 2023). "Paris 2024 opening ceremony: Authorities consider admitting around 300,000 spectators for free". Le Monde. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Pretot, Julien (21 December 2023). "Paris 2024 has contingency plans for opening ceremony". Reuters. Reuters. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  7. ^ a b c Daffunchio Picazo, Raúl (28 December 2023). "Paris 2024: From a big opening for all to a small one for some". Inside the Games. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Burke, Patrick (23 April 2023). "Paris 2024 reveals flotilla of boats signed up for historic Opening Ceremony along Seine". Inside the Games. Archived from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  9. ^ Muñana, Gustavo (23 November 2023). "Olympics-Paris 2024 to sell 400,000 tickets next week, 7.2 million already sold". Inside the Games. Archived from the original on 25 November 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  10. ^ "France prepared to change plans on 2024 Olympics opening based on security". Reuters. Reuters. 20 December 2023. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  11. ^ Newcomb, Tim (20 June 2023). "Paris 2024 Floats New Approach For Opening Ceremony Stadium". Forbes. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  12. ^ Paphitis, Nicholas (16 April 2024). "Despite weather glitch, the Paris Olympics flame is lit at the Greek cradle of ancient games". AP News. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  13. ^ "News Access Rules Applicable to the Olympic Torch Relay of the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad Paris 2024" (PDF). International Olympic Committee (PDF). 26 November 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
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