In a first, Paris 2024 Olympics will see an opening ceremony outside of a stadium and in the heart of the city, as its organisers unveiled their plan to open the ceremony on the River Seine, with at least 6,00,000 spectators expected to attend the grand party.
A total of 116 Parisian and regional boats from 42 river companies have been identified to sail on the river on July 26, 2024. The boats mostly will come from Paris, with a Strasbourg-based provider Batorama too sending its boats to participate in the opening ceremony.
The boats will transport the athletes, sailing six kilometers from Pont d’Austerlitz to the Pont d’Iena, with the river and Paris’ iconic monuments such as Notre Dame, the Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower as backdrop. The cruising route is also one of the classic tourist attractions of the French capital.
The Olympics Games will see the sale of an estimated 100,000 tickets for the opening ceremony, ranging from 90 euros to 2,700 euros.
Paris has hosted the Olympics twice before, in 1900 and 1924. Next year, it will become the second city after London to host the games for the third time when athletes around the world gather from July 26 to August 11.
