Que: opening ceremony, Paris Olympics 2024
When: 7:30pm (17:30 GMT) on Friday
How to follow: Al Jazeera will have live commentary and photos of the opening ceremony as well as the build-up with what to expect.
The Paris Olympics 2024 will be officially launched on Friday with an opening ceremony in the French capital that will buck the trend of all the games that have come before it.
Here’s a breakdown of what we know ahead of what promises to be the latest in a long line of spectacularly staged curtain raisers at the Summer Olympics:
Where will the opening ceremony take place?
For the first time in the event’s history, the opening ceremony will not be staged inside an Olympic stadium. Instead, the Parisian spectacle will be staged on the city’s main river, the Seine.
The nature of the opening ceremony and the precise details remain under wraps, but organizers have promised a show like no other and said it will be “daring and joyful.”
A secret that was impossible to keep was that the Paris Olympic Stadium would not be included in the opening ceremony. Spectators were told they would instead be required to line the banks of the Seine.
Dozens of boats will carry thousands of athletes and performers on a 6km (3.7-mile) floating parade by river through the heart of the French capital.
The extravaganza will depart from the Austerlitz Bridge, sail by Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral and arrive near the Eiffel Tower.
Along the way, it will pass under bridges and gateways, including the Pont des Arts and Pont Neuf, while taking in many of the city’s most famous landmarks.
Organizers have promised “there won’t be a single riverbank or bridge that won’t be filled with music, dance or performance”, adding that they will take advantage of the historic monuments, the riverbanks, the sky and water.
The artists who will perform throughout the event have been kept secret although the run time is expected to be four hours. There have been widespread media reports that famous performers like Celine Dion and Lady Gaga are involved in the opening ceremony – but these reports have not been confirmed by the organizers.
Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the opening ceremony, painted the picture, however, by suggesting the show will be “a large fresco” celebrating Paris, France and the games and will interweave a parade of athletes, artistic performances and elements of protocol.
Who will be in attendance?
Sitting on the banks of the Seine will be more than 100 heads of state and government while more than 300,000 spectators are also expected to line the river. Of those, 104,000 will have to buy tickets while it is estimated a further 222,000 will get free invitations. That number does not include those who will find ways to access free vantage points along the way.
The Paris 2024 Organizing Committee said about 10,500 athletes will take part in the opening ceremony and 80 giant screens along the route will offer intimate close-ups of the athletes and artists.
Among one of the most high-profile flag bearer announcements this week, it was revealed on Monday that basketball icon Lebron James will be one of the athletes to carry the flag for Team USA at the opening ceremony.
What are the security concerns?
The French have nothing left to chance when it comes to security for the opening ceremony.
For Friday’s event alone, there will be 45,000 police dispatched to ensure the ceremony’s security.
Special intervention forces along with snipers deployed on top of buildings will also be on duty, and the former have been on duty in plain sight in the days leading up to the ceremony. An anti-drone system will also be in place to prevent any aerial threats.
The immediate vicinity of the riverbank has been shut off since July 18 with local residents required to carry permits on a QR code to get to their homes. Spectators similarly will be required to use the same system to reach their viewing positions.
The transportation system will also be restricted in the areas surrounding the Seine with cars allowed in only with special exceptions and metro stations shut down close to the river.
Most bridges will also be closed while plans will be prevented from flying over Paris – unless they are part of the ceremony.
France is already at its highest-level security alert with wars in both Gaza and Ukraine and security concerns at home.
Although there is concern about attacks and other threats to the games as a whole, officials have said there were no specific threats to Friday’s ceremony.
Given the extent of the security in place, a lone attacker is considered to be the main potential risk across the games, according to briefings by officials in recent months. Potential petty crime has been identified as a concern as have possible protests by environmental activists, the far right and far left, and the pro-Palestinian movement.
A man suspected of planning an attack in the name of ISIL (ISIS) at the Saint-Etienne football stadium during the Olympics was arrested in May while a right-wing sympathizer was arrested this month in eastern France on suspicion of plotting attacks.
There are backup plans in place should specific concerns arise. They would either see the ceremony limited to the Trocadero Square near the Eiffel Tower or the Stade de France, which is serving as the Olympic Stadium.
How will Paris compare to past Olympic opening ceremonies?
- Tokyo 2020: The opening ceremony was overshadowed by COVID-19. Postponed by a year due to the pandemic, the games were held largely without spectators, but the opening ceremony was regarded as a spectacle for the ages.
- Rio 2016: A financially constrained Brazil had little choice but to put on a more low-key show with minimal technology and a heavy dependence on the vast talent of Brazil and its Carnival party traditions.
- London 2012: The then-86-year-old Queen Elizabeth put aside royal reserve in a video where she stepped onto a helicopter with James Bond actor Daniel Craig to be carried aloft from Buckingham Palace as part of a dizzying ceremony designed to highlight the grandeur and eccentricities of the nation.
- Beijing 2008: Nearly one billion people, or 15 percent of the world’s population, watched the opening ceremony, which involved 10,000 performers, 2,008 drummers and a dramatic skywalking finale.
- Barcelona 1992: And perhaps the most unforgettable moment of them all in modern Olympics opening ceremony history:
The Olympic Cauldron was lit with a burning arrow on this day at Barcelona 1992. 🔥
As archery kicks off today at #Paris2024we’re throwing back to that unforgettable moment.🏹✨@worldarchery pic.twitter.com/G9YiuJmZmD
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) July 25, 2024
Keep up to date:
You can follow the action on Al Jazeera’s dedicated Paris 2024 Olympics page with all the news and features as well as event build-up and live text commentary on selected football, basketball, tennis and boxing fixtures.
