What is now known about Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony on Friday

The 2024 Paris Olympic Games launch this week after years of preparation. 

The first event will be a Rugby Sevens match on Wednesday (July 24) but most people will see the opening ceremony as the traditional curtain raiser. 

The ceremony will be held on Friday (July 26), and although some plans are still being kept secret, other details about the event have now been made available. 

Where will the ceremony take place?

It has been widely publicised that for the first time in the Summer Games’ modern history, the opening ceremony will not be held inside a stadium, but rather outside. 

Athletes will travel in boats along the river Seine, between the Austerlitz and Iéna bridges, passing some of the city’s most famous sites. Each boat will take around 45 minutes to make the journey between the bridges. They will travel as a convoy.

This will culminate with a spectacle at the Trocadéro, opposite the Eiffel Tower.

Much of the riverbank has already been closed off, accessed only via QR codes for residents and workers, and temporary seating has been installed along the show’s path. 

Read more: Olympic QR codes begin: what Paris residents and visitors need to know

Rather creatively, the ceremony will officially start at 20:24 Paris time, and last for around three hours and 45 minutes.

Exact details are being kept under wraps but hints from producer of the show Thomas Jolly suggest the iconic landmarks the athletes’ boats pass by will tie into the ceremony, promoting the history and culture not just of Paris but of France.

Can I turn up to watch it? Are tickets free?

No. Whilst there were originally plans for the opening ceremony to be more widely accessible (up to 600,000 attendees), security concerns mean the event is now ticket-only with 300,000 tickets being available.

Some tickets were handed out for free, with the remainder being available to purchase. 

This close to the ceremony, however, only the most expensive tickets are available. 

The official Olympic website is still selling tickets for the show with the cheapest starting at €900 per person, rising to €2,700. 

The ceremony will be shown across TV channels throughout the world, including France 2 in France, NBC in the US, and the BBC in the UK. 

Remaining tickets for events are also on sale through the Olympic website.

What is the weather forecast? 

The good news is that early forecasts are for a ‘typical’ Parisian summer evening. 

Temperatures in the day will be close to 30C but will begin to drop by the start of the ceremony. Skies are likely to remain clear although rain forecast in the neighbouring regions of Normandy and Hauts-de-France could mean some clouds will reach the city. 

One concern is the power of the Seine – the river’s currents are currently stronger than usual for summer, meaning boats may need to drive slower to prevent athletes being thrown around. In a ceremony planned so meticulously, this may have some knock-on effects in regards to timing. 

Read more: Weather in France July 22 – July 26: Forecast by area this week

Are there back-up plans? 

Security for the event is, as expected, massive, with some 45,000 police officers and security personnel being deployed along the route. 

Snipers and anti-terrorist specialists will also be camped out on buildings looking for potential danger and anti-drone squads will be set up beside the capital. 

If fear of an attack is deemed too high nearer the time, there are alternative plans, which would see the opening ceremony held either at the Trocadéro alone, or in the Stade de France in nearby Seine-Saint-Denis, come into play.

Read more: Drones, divers, dogs: the massive job of making Paris Olympics secure