Paris 2024 unveils plans for a spectacular Opening Ceremony, staged on the Seine, for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
The Board of Directors of Paris 2024 approved the unprecedented location and concept for the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024: for the first time in a summer edition of the Games, the ceremony will take place outside of the stadium and right in the heart of Paris.
A 6 km procession will transport athletes along the Seine in a flotilla of some 160 boats, between Pont d’Austerlitz and the Pont d’Iéna. The river, its bridges and the capital’s iconic monuments will serve as the backdrop for a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle, showing the world the very best of Paris, with hundreds of millions of people watching on television.
This bold choice means that the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony will be more open than any other in the entire history of the Games: at least 600,000 can experience it in the flesh – ten times more than could attend in the Stade de France.
The purpose of these adjustments is to allow better shared use to be made of the existing sites, whilst continuing to provide an exceptional backdrop for the Olympic and Paralympic feats of brilliance, at the very heart of Paris’ historical heritage. Les Invalides, the Pont Alexandre III and the Pont Iéna, the Trocadéro and the forecourt of the Hôtel de Ville will cast glory over the road races in the Olympic Games. The marathon will start from the Hôtel de Ville – one more iconic site that will play host to events in the heart of the city – and end at Les Invalides. The time trial riders will set off from Les Invalides, and cycle to Pont Alexandre III, which will also see action in the marathon swimming and triathlon. Finally, the Pont d’Iéna, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, will serve as the start and end point for the cycling sprint and race walking. Originally intended to take place at Stade Pierre de Coubertin, the Paralympic Goalball will now be held in the Paris Sud Arena (Hall 6) in Porte de Versailles. The Pierre de Coubertin stadium will remain a training site for the athletes. In order to promote the Paralympic events as much as possible, whilst also ensuring everything runs smoothly, Paris 2024 hopes to set up a Paralympic hub at the Porte de Versailles centre, which will now play host to three Paralympic sports (boccia in Hall 1 and para table tennis in Hall 4).
